Elvira's Cakes (Independence Ave)

Elvira’s Cakes (Elvira’s Pastelería y Panadería) is a Mexican bakery and lunch counter at 3838 Independence Ave in Historic Northeast KC — one of the longest-running food businesses on the avenue, founded in Elvira Arizmendi’s home kitchen in 1994 and moved to a brick-and-mortar in 2003. Current manager is her son, José Hernández. Menu: custom cakes, pan dulce, tamales (pork, chicken, sweet raisin, corn), and a daily lunch plate.

Description

Elvira’s Cakes is one of the longest-standing food businesses on Independence Avenue. Elvira Arizmendi started baking out of her home kitchen in 1994 before opening a storefront at 3838 Independence Ave in 2003 — putting the bakery at over two decades of continuous operation on the avenue. Her son José Hernández manages the day-to-day operation, keeping the business in the family.

The menu is classic Mexican panadería: custom cakes for birthdays, quinceañeras, and celebrations; pan dulce baked daily; tamales in four varieties (pork, chicken, sweet raisin, corn); and a rotating lunch plate. The bakery has been a NEKC Chamber member and a consistent stop on Independence Ave food tours.

Tier classification

Tier 1. Elvira Arizmendi started a bakery in her home kitchen in 1994 and built it into a 20+ year brick-and-mortar institution on Independence Avenue. The roots are inseparable from the business — this is exactly the “pride and dedication to business owner’s roots” the Tier 1 standard measures.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-11 · Source: Elvira’s Cakes official site + online ordering + Northeast News profile · URL(s): https://elvirascakes.com/ · http://orderelvirascakes.com/ · https://northeastnews.net/pages/tasty-treats-await-at-elviras-cakes-2/ · Confidence: Medium (categories and items confirmed from the official website, the online-ordering page, and press; specific per-item prices are not published publicly — ordering is behind a Square checkout — so no prices are listed here)

A full-service Mexican panadería: custom cakes and tres leches, daily pan dulce, tamales by the dozen, and a savory antojitos/lunch counter — plus aguas frescas and Mexican treats.

Cakes & Tres Leches

• Tres leches cake — classic three-milk sponge; whole cakes and slices¹²
• Custom cakes — birthday, wedding, and quinceañera cakes made to order³¹
• Regular cake (slices) — red velvet and strawberry are noted customer favorites²
• Choco flan — chocoflan / “impossible cake” (chocolate cake baked with flan)²

Pan Dulce & Pastries

• Conchas & daily pan dulce — assorted Mexican sweet breads baked fresh daily³¹
• Flan — leche flan¹²

Tamales (made daily, sold by the dozen)

• Pork in red sauce³²
• Chicken in green sauce³²
• Jalapeño & cheese²
• Sweet raisin³²
• Corn (elote)³²

Antojitos & Lunch Counter

• Torta — Mexican sandwich¹²
• Burrito¹²
• Gordita¹²
• Taco²
• Elote en vaso — corn in a cup¹
• Mangonada — mango-chamoy frozen treat¹

Drinks & Treats

• Aguas frescas — including horchata¹
• Natural juices¹
• Malteda / shakes / banana splits¹

Links

• Official site: https://elvirascakes.com/

Sources

Footnotes

1. Elvira’s Cakes — official website. https://elvirascakes.com/ (retrieved 2026-07-11) — Confirms: bread/pastries (pan dulce, conchas); custom cakes (tres leches, birthday, wedding, quinceañera); tortas, burritos, gorditas, tamales, flan; aguas frescas, natural juices, malteda/shakes, banana splits; elote en vaso, mangonada; hours Mon–Sat 5:30a–9:00p / Sun 7:30a–6:00p; phone (816) 231-3524. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. Elvira’s Cakes — online ordering (Square). http://orderelvirascakes.com/ (item list retrieved 2026-07-11 via listing) — Confirms: choco flan; tamales by the dozen (pork in red sauce, chicken in green sauce, jalapeño & cheese, raisin, corn); gordita; burrito; taco; torta; tres leches cake; regular cake (red velvet, strawberry). Per-item prices sit behind the Square checkout flow and are not published on the public page. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

3. Northeast News — “Tasty Treats Await at Elvira’s Cakes” (profile). https://northeastnews.net/pages/tasty-treats-await-at-elviras-cakes-2/ — Confirms: Elvira Arizmendi (founder); José Hernández (manager/son); 3838 Independence Ave, KCMO 64124; home kitchen 1994 origin; B&M 2003; custom cakes + pan dulce + tamales (pork, chicken, sweet raisin, corn); lunch menu; catering; NEKC Chamber member. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶