K & J's Elegant Pastries
K & J's Elegant Pastries & Creamery is a bakery and ice cream shop owned by Kristal Thomas-Bryant with her husband Jonathan Bryant. Their daughters Ja'Kaiya and Jaliyah help run the family business.
Thomas-Bryant launched her custom cake business at home. She opened a commercial bakery on Kent Dairy Road in Alabaster in 2013 and relocated to 236 1st Street South in February 2017. There she began offering ice cream treats, including the "Kolossal" milkshakes that created a sensation, bringing long lines to the business. She added a food truck nicknamed "Pinky."
She moved the business to the ground floor of the 22nd Street Parking Deck at 2260 9th Avenue North in Birmingham's Uptown district in spring 2022. Later that year, K & J's opened a second location in the former Dreamcakes Café space in the Ross Bridge Village Center at 3601 Market Street in Hoover's Ross Bridge community. She closed the Ross Bridge location in September 2024.
References
- Wright, Erica (February 18, 2019) "How Kristal Bryant gave birth to the ‘Mother of Milkshakes’." The Birmingham Times
- Bowser, Javacia Harris (February 4, 2020) "How one local business owner went from creating milkshakes to wedding cakes." Birmingham magazine
- Wood, Cecilia (February 25, 2022) "K & J’s Elegant Pastries coming to Uptown, Spring 2022." Bham Now
- "K&J’s Pastries opens new location in Hoover." (October 10, 2022) Birmingham Business Journal
- Short, Cody D. (September 20, 2023) "These popular Birmingham bakery goodies are selling out every day, just in time for fall." AL.com
- Dyos, Stuart (June 21, 2024) "Executive Profile: Getting the scoop with Kristal Thomas, owner of K&J's Elegant Pastries." Birmingham Business Journal
- Short, Cody D. (September 10, 2024) "Popular Birmingham bakery permanently closing a location after 2 years." AL.com
External links
- K & J's Elegant Pastries website