Today we’d like to introduce you to Kerianne Nunez.
Hi Kerianne , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband, Javier, and I met while attending The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley back in 2013. After graduating, we lived in Los Angeles and both worked in the food industry there until we made the decision to move to Kansas City in 2018. We loved our life and careers in Los Angeles, but with the high cost of living and long work hours, we weren’t getting any closer to our personal goals of having a house, starting a family and opening up our own business. I grew up in Wichita, KS, so I was familiar with Kansas City and we were drawn to move here for the food scene and culture. Javier worked at Wheatfields, and then became the bread manager at Ibis, and I made pasta and pastries at North Italia, then went on to manage front of house at the Country Club at Loch Lloyd. Javier and I got married, had our son Enrique, and started baking conchas out of a shared kitchen and selling them to Taco Naco and Cafe Corazon. But we were unable to keep up with our full time jobs, taking care of our son and wholesaling, so we stopped baking and focused on finding our own location. We looked at several more traditional retail spots, but ultimately chose to open up at the bottom of the BOK Financial Tower and are so happy with our decision. We love all of the people who work in the office building, and through the use of social media, we’ve grown a group of regular customers who come in just for us!
Aurora Cafe and Bakery is a reflection of all of the food we love to cook and eat. We are a scratch kitchen, and even make the bread for all of our sandwiches. Javier is the primary baker, and pays homage to his Mexican culture through his twist on traditional pan dulce. The namesake of our cafe belongs to his grandmother, Aurora. I mainly cultivate the savory menu, including the sandwiches, salads, soups and specials. We have grown quite a bit since we first opened in May of 2024. We went viral on TikTok in March of 2025 for our Creme Brulee Conchita, and that allowed us to hire more employees and expand our menu just a little bit. We are continuously striving to grow our business, create new culinary items, and cultivate a welcoming space for our community.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth road? Never heard of her. This has been so incredibly difficult, scary, and seemingly impossible at times. But also exhilarating, rewarding and the best thing we’ve ever done. Getting started and opening was daunting. Once we were open, just generating enough business, but also keeping up with the business we did have was a lot to juggle for our tiny team. Going viral on TikTok was exactly what we needed but it was a really challenging period of time to get through, physically and emotionally. We were barely sleeping just trying to keep up with the demand, and I was 7 months pregnant. But we are so thankful for all of it, even the hard times. Anything that is worthwhile will never be easy.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Javier and I focus on cooking food that we love to eat, and food that reflects our own culinary backgrounds and experiences. Javier honors his Mexican heritage through his pan dulce. He uses a percentage of un-sifted, whole grain flour from Marion Milling in all of his baked goods, which adds a bit more nutritional value and a greater depth of flavor. He also adds sourdough starter to all of his bread products, including all of the conchas. I personally love salads, so our menu will always include the freshest salads with house made dressings. I also really love to cook specials and utilize any seasonal ingredients we get from our farmer. (Crum’s Heirlooms)
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I grew up in Wichita, KS, and I don’t think many people know this, but Wichita has incredible Lebanese food. There is a large Lebanese population there, and we had family friends (The Saad Family) who owned a little restaurant called Byblos. I loved poking around in awe at the huge jugs of various olives in brine, and my favorite memory was when Ilham Saad let me back into the kitchen to help her mix a fattoush salad in the biggest metal mixing bowl I’d ever seen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.auroracafebakery.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/auroracafeandbakery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557669036837&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@auroracafeandbakery?_r=1&_t=ZT-92q0b4EkJqZ
