Pietisserie

I took it too far in 2024 when I bought 25 pounds of walnuts. I was still in a Blackbottom Walnut Pie state of mind. Four pounds remain.

New issue out now. Link in bio.

A FUTURE MEMORY OF PIG 🐷
In a move decidedly more Christmas ham than Thanksgiving pie, I have relocated to the country and started raising hogs.

It's not as far a cry from Pietisserie as it sounds, but it does mean that, sadly, I won't be part of your 2023 holiday celebrations. After a baker's dozen in years of operating Pietisserie, I still love pie. And yet, making new things involves hanging up this hat.

I have chapters now on the joys and sorrows of creativity and business, but the most important thing to say at this juncture is thank you! Thank you! I believed that miniscule seeds of inspiration are worth watering. Your part in the story of Pietisserie—as customers, collaborators and newfound friends—proved to me that they are.

When I started the company in 2010, I'd made only 25 pies in my entire life. Pietisserie grew into a company with a production capacity of 8,000 pies per day and a national reputation for ingenuity.

What is more Americana than pie? Through its iconography and my tenure as entrepreneur, I discovered something about aspiration: If the pursuit of happiness is our right, then our responsibility is the achievement of it by centering those undertakings which are rewarding in and of themselves—as Pietisserie was to me for so many years. (Continued)

(Cont’d 2/2 A FUTURE MEMORY OF PIG 🐷 )


In one small business accelerator or another, I learned to speak the language of marketplace gaps (ie Did you know there is no pie to complement the proliferation of ice cream today's consumer prefers?). But the reality is that my fixation on pie, its presentation, and its position as a cultural commonplace was largely personal. To their chagrin, it was idiosyncrasy, not Survey Monkey, that bore Chocolate Cream Pretzel, shadowbox pie packaging, and high-concept seasonal shops.

To those of you who were customers between 2010 and 2013, my hankering for a slower life was obvious. I used to pull up to Lake Merrit or the farmers' market at Swan's, and pop my trunk to empty the disparate PVC parts of a mobile pie stand modeled after a country window with pies cooling on the sill. In less than 10 minutes, we'd all be whisked away to a time and place that was nostalgic despite the fact that, as modern city dwellers, neither I nor most of you were recalling this experience from personal history.

In many ways, the years precipitating my deep dive into pie have been similar to the last few. I was in New York City trying to be somebody. My strategy was being clever and my insurance plan was grit, because the road does wind. But what I was not prepared for is the toll crossings, where one pays in character and self-perception. Like many promising young women, I found that I was the product.

East Bay Pick-up Alert TODAY
We're doing it for 1 more day! This is NOT a drill. This is our final day for the 2022 season.

The Bakery is OPEN!*

WHERE:
1225 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

WHEN:
TODAY 12/24
11am-4pm

*All pies are first-come, first-served. All sales final. No need to call ahead. Come on over to snag your holiday pie. 🥧🥧🥧

(Previous orders cannot be transferred to the Berkeley bakery for pick-up.)

See you today East Bay family!

East Bay Pick-up Alert TODAY

The Bakery is OPEN!*

WHERE:
1225 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

WHEN:
TODAY 12/23
Noon-5pm

*All pies are first-come, first-served. All sales final. No need to call ahead. Come on over to snag your holiday pie. 🥧🥧🥧

(Previous orders cannot be transferred to the Berkeley bakery for pick-up.)

See you today East Bay family!

Having a hard time finding us? Look for our brand new sign on the 2nd floor at . We’re here until Christmas. Orders close December 19!

Plated to perfection. However you slice it, we like to think we’ve got something for everyone. With 15 different flavors, our five visual categories serve deliciousness across Pastel, Crumble, Cocoa, Open, and Woven. 🍽️🥧✨

We like dope beats and dope *beets* 🎵☺️ This year we’re bringing back our special Beet pie, exclusively available for the holidays. We roast and puree beets to bring rich flavor and color to the table. Try it for yourself this season!

The crowd-pleasers. Everyone knows Pumpkin and Apple are Thanksgiving heavy hitters, but most *don’t* know that we source local ingredients for our craft pies. We include roasted Kabocha squash in our Pumpkin in Chocolate pie and use cold-pressed ginger juice and cardamom in the crumble for our Pink Apple pie. Slyly spicin’ up the classics 💁‍♀️🌶️ 🍏✨