116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
K.C. Cakes & Cajun moves NewBo bakery, Louisiana eats to downtown Cedar Rapids
Restaurant’s growth continues with new Cajun specialties, late hours
Nov. 19, 2025 6:00 am, Updated: Nov. 19, 2025 7:25 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — After two years in NewBo City Market, a Frankenstein kind of cafe is finally melding into the common palate of Cedar Rapids.
Two years ago, K.C. Cakes turned part-time cupcakers into full-time bakers at the small business incubator, where owners Krystan Proctor and Alex Cooley swapped deliveries for a small storefront.
Late last year, they injected some Cajun flavor into operations with a limited selection of Cooley’s favorites from his native Louisiana.
Now, the uncommon pair is settling into a new home where the family of flavors can grow together.
“It’s been nothing but a learning curve since day one. Then it turned into this, and it’s been crazy ever since,” Proctor said. “Everyone still thinks it’s a weird concept, but it clicks.”
If you go:
Address: Armstrong Centre Food Court, 210 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Website: Find K.C. Cakes & Cajun on Facebook
Details: Find an assortment of bakery staples like cupcakes, cookies, and specialties like tres leches cake alongside a Cajun-forward menu featuring favorites like jambalaya, po’boys, and red beans and rice. Available for dine in, carryout and delivery via DoorDash.
Growing into it
For Proctor, baking started at home long before she was a mother. When she became a mom herself at 19, the interest was reborn as a way to bond with her daughter.
Instead of making kolaches like her Czechoslovakian family, she channeled the energy into cakes that allowed her to channel her artistic flair into more complicated desserts.
When the pandemic hit, the need for something from scratch took on a new meaning. Together, the family turned Cooley’s DoorDash delivery route into a cake walk of sorts, selling 6-packs of basic cupcakes and building an online following the way many foodies did earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since they moved into NewBo City Market in 2023, their growth has consistently hit ambitious projections.
“We just keep growing so quickly that we’ve found we couldn’t do what we needed to do (at NewBo City Market,)” Proctor said. “It’s been nothing but a learning curve since day one. Then it turned into this, and it’s been crazy ever since.”
Their latest move, opened on Nov. 10, is no exception. As they move into the long-vacant space last held by Gringo’s Cafe, the couple’s new location is helping to repopulate the Armstrong Centre — a four-tenant food court that has only been occupied by Coffee Republic for several months.
On Nov. 16, they closed their NewBo City Market location to focus fully on their new space.
“Our first two days were pretty crazy. We did more (business) than we usually do in NewBo,” Proctor said.
A new menu
With five times the space and four times the frying capacity, customers will notice expansion of the Cajun menu most prominently in the sweet and slightly spicy pairing.
Before, a small stall limited the Cajun menu to a couple very basic items that had to be rotated through the week. Now, the Cajun that has been part of the business plan since the beginning can flourish.
Thanks to plenty of samples at NewBo, the couple has planted a taste of Cajun classics in an area where the only frame of reference for red beans and rice was at fast-food chain Popeyes. Louisiana and southeastern Texas transplants have also come out of the woodwork, they said.
Red beans and rice are available in half or whole portions and can be made a meal with cornbread. The same goes for jambalaya, a chicken and andouille sausage entree made classic by the “holy trinity” of bell peppers, celery and onions.
Thanks to new fryers, diners can enjoy a taste of the south daily with po’boys available in shrimp or catfish varieties with sides of chips, fries or onion rings. If you’d rather get straight to the meat, opt for the fried catfish basket.
Breaded chicken wraps in three flavors, a pulled pork sandwich, and panko-breaded fried pickles and mozzarella sticks round out the menu. Proctor said they have added a kids menu in hopes to foster a family-friendly environment.
Eventually, Cooley hopes to add new specials like muffuletta sandwiches, gumbo in cold months and crawfish etouffee — whose featured protein evokes trepidation with some locals.
“It’s a very small lobster,” he says, to reassure them.
Proctor hopes to master beignets and usher in brunch service with fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, and waffles.
Later hours
A significant feature of their revised business plan is later hours in a desolate district for late-night food. Since their early days of cupcake delivery, Proctor and Cooley have seen a demand for more options after most restaurants close.
Their new location will be open until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
“We’ve heard a lot about the appeal to the crowd down here where people, when they get out of the Paramount or Alliant (Energy PowerHouse,) there’s no food options — it’s just bars,” Proctor said. “We want to offer the opportunity for them to be able to come down and sit in a relaxed space after the show.”
With plenty of variety, the concept of sweet treats and peppery pick-me-ups works for lunch, dinner or a snack.
“Cajun is flavorful and spicy,” Cooley said.
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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