AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Pie Company has been bringing smiles, joy and full bellies to the residents of Kyle, and beyond, for almost 25 years.
Owner Julie Albertson said the love of pie brings people together.
"Pie opens a lot of doors. We've taken pies to a lot of places. I've gotten on tour buses with pie. All you have to say is, 'I've got a pie for you' and they've let me on their tour bus," Albertson said.
Baking pies is like anything in life: it's hard work. But if you have a passion for pie, it's a labor of love.
"We bake about almost 24 hours a day," Albertson said.
The Texas Pie Company sells sweet pies like apple and buttermilk, but they also sell savory pies that will delight the taste buds.
"We also do chicken pot pies and we have casseroles to-go," Albertson said.
The pies are so good that they've been able to bring people together. In fact, that's how Albertson met her husband, the true love of her life.
"My husband is a musician in Austin, and he's a blues singer. There were so many people trying to get around to see him, girls in particular, that I wanted to set myself apart. So, I baked him a pie," Albertson said. "I always joke around and say that if you want to to meet a guy, come and see me. I'll make him a special pie and we'll think about him. We will bake all of your emotion in that pie and give it to him and then he will feel that and be drawn to you."
Albertson calls it "kitchen magic." Or maybe, it's just a recipe for a marriage in the making.
She ended up taking her future husband a pie and said he was not impressed at first. But when he opened the box and saw it was pie, he chased her down in the parking lot. The happy couple has been together for 30 years.
Now that the long-time bakery owner has proven the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, Albertson isn't not opposed to helping others land their sweethearts too.
"We talked about what they wanted in their relationship and their longing for this man. We baked all the emotion into that pie and they gave it to them. There's been two marriages associated with pie that I know of, other than mine," Albertson said.
For more than two decades, people have had a love affair with Albertson's pies – and they'll do just about anything for a slice of the heavenly delights she bakes.
"We had to overnight pecan pie to one of the Anatolia Islands. It was hundreds and hundreds of dollars. We were shocked and amazed, but we did it," Albertson said.
Whether you need a pie for a special occasion or your sweet tooth is calling the name of the favorite flavor you fondly remember, pie is something special to everyone.
"For me, pie is a symbol of family at the table, everybody eating pie together and enjoying it and laughing. When people come in my shop and they eat a slice of my pie and I can hear them laughing, I know that I've done my job," Albertson said.
It's a job that has led her to become beloved by all who taste her pies, but especially by the man who years ago said "yes" to a piece of pie and "I do" to a baker with a big heart and pie in the sky dream.
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