Donna Kelce promised I’d love the cinnamon rolls from this KC brunch spot. She was right

Editor’s note: Welcome back to our series Let’s Dish, Kansas City , showcasing some of our favorite restaurant meals.

Here are a few things you may not know about Donna Kelce: She’s a former banking executive born and raised in Cleveland. In high school, she earned a medal at the Junior Olympics in track and field. And she’s the first in her family to graduate college, according to a May profile in People Magazine .

She also recently shared that she’s a big fan of the cinnamon rolls and other homestyle fare at Hemma Hemma, an eclectic brunch spot in Waldo that celebrated its one-year anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 21.

“Tip for KC travelers… stop by Hemma Hemma at 71st & Wornall for breakfast or lunch… you will love the cinnamon rolls,” Kelce wrote in an Instagram post in early September.

Of course, Kelce has a more widely-known claim to fame: She’s the mother of Chiefs star Travis Kelce and retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

But as I ventured to her favored Waldo restaurant to taste the cinnamon rolls for myself, my mind wasn’t on football. Instead, I was thinking of my past Let’s Dish excursions to Seven Swans Creperie and the now-catering-only You Say Tomato .

Both of these beloved Kansas City restaurants are special to me because they offer a cozy, eclectic oasis from the bustle of professional life. They’re great places to venture alone with a book to enjoy a meal or a treat in attractive surroundings. And as soon as I walked in, I could tell that Hemma Hemma is part of this elite group.

“Hemma is Swedish for ‘at home,’” owner Ashley Bare said. “I wanted to make a cozy, home-feeling environment.”

Hemma Hemma, located at 7122 Wornall Road, is Bare’s first restaurant. A Kansas City native, she attended culinary school in New York City and worked as a private chef for years before moving back to the metro in 2018. During the pandemic, many of her clients opted for delivered meals, sparking the first iteration of the Hemma Hemma brand.

“After being a private chef for a long time, a goal of mine has been to make people come to me instead of me going to them,” she said with a laugh.

Bare launched the restaurant in fall 2023 as a cafeteria-style eatery, later switching to a more traditional counter-ordering model.

The first thing that stood out to me about Hemma Hemma was its size: The space feels a little like three small restaurants in one.

The first area, by the ordering counter, has a wall of refrigerated displays lined with grab-and-go items like salads and drinks. The main dining room offers a view into the kitchen from cushioned booths lining marble-topped tables. Walk even farther from the front counter and you’ll find yourself in a teaching kitchen, where customers sit around giant prep counters during business hours and cooking classes gather in the evenings.

Colorful decor and an elevated, cozy vibe tie the three spaces together. In the teaching kitchen, where I sat with Bare to learn more about the restaurant, flower-shaped pink lights hang over the marble tables. Antique baking dishes sit stacked on curved wooden shelves in front of one window. The walls feature a mixture of bold-patterned green wallpaper and exposed brick.

But listen — I know the question you’re waiting for me to answer. Is Donna Kelce right about Hemma Hemma’s cinnamon rolls? Are they really THAT good?

Guys.

They are THAT good.

The moment pastry chef Amy Beeman set one down in front of me, I could tell the hype was not overblown. These things are huge, nearly filling their small serving plates, with the spiral shape of the dough just visible under a blanket of gooey cream cheese frosting.

The roll itself was pillow-soft and sweet with just a hint of salt, perfectly setting off the generous cinnamon sugar filling. The tang of the icing made the roll decadent without being overwhelmingly sweet. And my favorite part was an occasional crunch from where the edges of the cinnamon sugar filling had oozed out into the baking pan.

I’m not alone in my instant love for these cinnamon rolls. Bare said Hemma Hemma sells around five dozen on a typical weekend day — and interest has increased since Kelce’s post.

I also tried a couple of the restaurant’s bountiful savory toasts along with Star visual journalist Tammy Ljungblad, who joined me for the visit to capture photos and video of the space and its food.

The smoked salmon toast, $11, was a loving homage to the New York-style bagel, featuring herby whipped feta, smoked salmon, giant capers, a halved hard-boiled egg and paper-thin cucumber slices, finished with dill sprigs and a squeeze of lemon.

The heirloom tomato toast, $9, piled chopped heirloom tomatoes and the restaurant’s signature herb blend onto a base of ricotta, along with salt and pepper. This toast won’t be available for long — it’s part of a rotating selection of dishes that spotlights seasonal ingredients.

“I love working with the seasons; I think it’s really important to highlight what’s best right now,” Bare said. “I’m personally known for not being able to do the same thing over and over again. I’m very inspired all the time, and I’m not cooking the same stuff that I did a long time ago.”

I hadn’t eaten lunch in preparation for my visit, but I still couldn’t make it through both of the delicious toasts — served on a thick slice of Ibis bakery bread, each one could have made a suitable lunch by itself.

One year into having her own brick-and-mortar, Bare already has her eye on the future.

“We want to make this location as great as it can be, but I’m always thinking about other locations and expansion,” she said. “Maybe a bakery so we can produce more cinnamon rolls. We’re going to launch catering soon in a more official way. There are a lot of options on the table.”

One thing is certain: Kansas City is a brunch town, and Hemma Hemma is already making a name for itself in that scene. The eclectic decor and delicious food made my visit memorable — and, like Donna Kelce, I’ll definitely be back.