A new inner city bakery is in the works. And it has potential to change the trajectory for Milwaukee youth.

R U Kidding Me Bakery – a combination deli, bakery and juice bar slated to open later this year – is the brainchild of Darrin Reasby, a native Milwaukeean whose experience with congestive heart failure inspired him to begin a new chapter in his already full life.

And Reasby – whose career has included successful stints as a fashion designer, a retail manager and a carpenter – is a pretty fascinating guy.

"Entrepreneurism has always been in my blood," says Reasby, who notes that he was just a boy when he started his first "business."

"My mom didn’t have any money," says Reasby, "and I really wanted this particular Hot Wheels car. So, I got her to give me some food stamps and I went to the grocery store and bought some doughnuts and sold them to the kids in the neighborhood. And the next thing you know, I had my car."

Reasby’s mother and grandmother, both of whom had degrees or experience in fashion design, laid the foundations for Reaby’s first career in fashion.

"My first design was a pair of pants for my G.I. Joe," says Reasby with a smile. He went on to study fashion design and merchandising at Border College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (now the Art Institute). And from there, he launched a career in fashion design, creating clothing for celebrities including Queen Latifah and both Michael and Janet Jackson.

By 1995, he had a line of clothing called Straight Out of The Ghetto: Never Forget Where You Came From, which was sold in Carson Pirie Scott stores throughout the Midwest.

That dream ended, he says, when he lost $30K from a contract with national retailer Merry-Go-Round Enterprises.

"They went bankrupt," he says. "So, I got a job as a manager for Walmart. I needed work, and I wanted to learn the business from one of the biggest retailers in the world."

A business with heart

Things took a turn two years ago, when Reasby was working as a carpenter for a large telecommunications company, traveling throughout the U.S. outfitting new retail shops. But, in November 2015, after a week-long trip to Beverly Hills, California, Reasby says exhaustion set in.

"I was so tired," he says. "But I kept working. It got to the point that, when I went to fly home, I couldn’t walk from terminal to terminal in the airport without stopping to rest. I was out of breath and my heart was racing."

When he arrived in Milwaukee, he says he went directly to Urgent Care, where the doctors supposed he’d suffered a heart attack. However, after a trip to the hospital and further testing, they determined that the problem wasn’t a heart attack, but rather congestive heart failure.

Although doctors sent him home with medication, during the following weeks, he developed further symptoms, including swelling in his legs and a minor stroke. Under a friend’s advisement, he sought care at Froedert Medical, where doctors applied additional treatments, eventually determining he’d need to undergo a heart transplant.

"I was on the transplant list for 14 months," he says. "But, I couldn’t just lay around, so I dove into baking."

^{(PHOTO: Darrin Reasby)}

Reasby's baking evolved into the concept for R U Kidding Me Bakery, a passion project that employs the tenets of an organization called "Born to Dream," which Reasby says he launched a decade ago.

"The goal with the program is to train teens and young adults for careers so that they can own their own bakeries someday," he says. "You don’t have to be a baker to be part of it, but you need to be entrepreneurial."

The program currently employs three teens, with the goal of eventually employing six kids and four adults, all of whom have gone through a three-month program that teaches them baking skills, from basics like making drop cookies to employing advanced techniques like making wedding cakes.

"There are a lot of programs to help kids who get in trouble after the fact," Reasby notes. "But, we’re pro-active. We want to get to kids before the fact. Even a kid who’s doing well, getting good grades, but isn’t motivated, will turn bad."

The program also teaches financial literacy through a program called "Save and Give Back."

"We teach kids how to earn money, save money and give back to their community through time or money," he says. "You can’t just get a job and spend it all. When you’re an adult, you have bills to pay. All of the kids enlist in the program when they get hired."

^{(PHOTO: Darrin Reasby)}

 R U Kidding Me?

The name for the bakery has a two-fold meaning, says Reasby.

"The first is obvious," he says. "It will be run by kids. The second has to do with the typical response to the items we make."

R U Kidding Me produces not only traditional pies and cakes – including caramel and German chocolate – but also towering six-foot masterpieces and other made-to-order items including cakes covered with candies, like this Dots cake.

^{(PHOTO: Darrin Reasby)}

"Ninety percent of what we make is something you wouldn’t ordinarily see in a bakery," he says, noting that he became known as the "Money Pastry Chef" after creating a cake which bore an uncanny resemblance to a stack of money.

Currently, Reasby is operating his business out of a commercial kitchen. But, he’s on the hunt for a location for his retail bakery, which will include a deli and juice bar.

"We’ll sell sandwiches, soups and salads," he says. "Things on the healthier side, since that’s become something important to me to maintain my health. We’ll also have a juice bar where you can come in and sit down to eat. It will be set up like a regular bar. But, I don’t drink. So, in addition to healthy juices, we’ll have things like non-alcoholic margaritas in flavors like Laffy Taffy, Jolly Rancher and Now and Later."

And the decor for the bakery and deli, he says, will be unexpectedly upscale.

"When you walk in, I want you to say ‘Are you kidding me?’ in response to the decor," he says. "Everything about it will be unexpected. It will be a high end bakery run by youth."

Reasby received his heart transplant eight weeks ago, and says he’s on the road to recovery. "I feel pretty good," he says, "and I’m keeping busy."

He’s currently in the midst of securing a location for the bakery, which he says he hopes to launch by the end of the year in an inner city location.

"My ultimate goal is franchise the whole concept," he says. "So, this bakery will be pilot for the model."

Once the Milwaukee location is up and running, Reasby says, he has plans to move back to Florida, where he says he’ll start the concepts second location.

Folks interested in the work of the R U Kidding Me Bakery are invited to attend the All White Affair, a red carpet fund-raising event on Sept. 3 at the Four Points Sheraton, 8900 N. Kildeer Ct. The event, which begins at 4 p.m., will feature a catered dinner and entertainment from national comedy acts and musicians. The event is just $15, and is family friendly. For more information about the bakery and event, visit rukiddingmebakery.com