Look for the big porch, and a smiling Donna Ryder outside at her 635 Elm Street Bakery in Kamrar.

KAMRAR — It must have been a little voice in her head, a pull of her heart, that led Donna Ryder to step out from decades of working for others and to begin working for herself.

Now she’s making fresh, homemade meals and sweet-smelling bakery items from her own shop in Kamrar known as The 635 Elm Street Bakery.

“I named it because it would be easy to find, and Kamrar doesn’t have a lot of street signs, so you might find me standing on my porch and waving at a lot of customers,” says Ryder, with a cheer in her voice.

Friendly smiles and homespun conversation come free with every meal. But it’s her experience in the food industry, coupled with some of her grandmother’s recipes, that put the homemade food on the table at this quaint hometown shop.

Ryder has some 25 years of experience cooking in restaurants, from Pennsylvania to Grandma Max’s in Altoona, and some popular local eateries. She was working at a beloved Webster City restaurant when the owners retired and Ryder knew it was time to begin a venture of her own.

“I came home and I told my husband, I’m not going back to another restaurant. I can’t afford to buy one, so I’m going to open a bakery.”

Together, she and her husband, Mark Ryder, went to work transforming a portion of their home to become a commercially-licensed kitchen.

“This was our dining room,” Ryder explains. “We were really excited to have a dining room. We had one family gathering here and then turned it into a bakery.”

To meet licensing requirements, the couple closed off one window and a door to make it separate from the rest of the home. That separation, she says, actually works in her favor as others who work from home may understand.

“It’s so easy,” she says. “I go outside, walk to the front door, and then come in, and I’m at work.”

It’s that short walk that creates a fresh frame of mind to begin the day’s work. Ryder can be found putting homemade bread in the oven early in the morning. Cinnamon rolls, caramel and pecan rolls are popular items. She also makes muffins, cakes, cupcakes and more.

“I love to do the cinnamon and caramel rolls,” she says. “People go crazy about those. It’s my grandma’s recipe, and so, 50 years later, here I am selling them. … It’s just been overwhelmingly positive so far.”

Knowing how much she’s always enjoyed decorating cookies with kids, Ryder has created kits so that parents and kids can spend time together in the kitchen.

“At Easter, I did kits for kids,” she explains. “I did a dozen unfrosted cookies with four different colors of frosting in the package so the kids could have fun decorating the cookies themselves. Those sold like hotcakes.”

The kits give parents and kids a chance to make more than just cookies — they are really making memories.

Ryder also understands the needs of today’s busy families, especially the farm families who surround the Kamrar countryside. She quickly took advantage of a new law to expand her home bakery into a full restaurant.

“I started doing full meals as soon as the governor signed the bill that changed my license to where I could cook more.”

With harvest season rapidly approaching, The Elm Street Bakery is now offering hot, homemade meals. Ryder makes a limited quantity each day, as she does not want to waste food. Drop-ins are welcome, but for large orders calling ahead, or reserving in advance, is definitely appreciated. Her full monthly menu is posted on The 635 Elm Street Bakery Facebook page.

A look at the menu reveals some farm favorite meals, such as hot beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy, ham balls with loaded mashed potatoes, and biscuits and gravy with fried potatoes.

For farmers on the go, Ryder will even deliver meals to the Kamrar United Co-op site. They can unload their grain and get a fresh, homemade dinner to go.

The Elm Street Bakery is open Monday through Thursday, and Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. She closes on Friday because the local pub is open for lunch on that day.

“It’s a small community and I’m all for businesses working together,” Ryder says.

Bakery hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., but if the flag is out, she’s open and happy to help a customer with a hot meal or a fresh bakery item.

Ryder has truly enjoyed how running a small-town business has helped her meet so many new friends and neighbors. She is a Stratford native, but she has also lived in other areas of the country, but the recent move to Kamrar has been life-changing.