Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Hollister.
Lindsay, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
A lifelong dream of Becky Grasley was to open a pie shop. Her son, Matthew Heffner, wanted to make her dream come true after realizing that LA lacked a true shop devoted just to pie. Armed with four decades of pie experience and recipes, we pulled out our life savings and opened our first location in DTLA October of 2011.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, we have learned a lot over the past five years. Finding a lot of success also comes with growing pains. We quickly outgrew our kitchen in DTLA and had to open a larger, commercial kitchen after the first two years of business. Making pie isn’t easy. It’s very labor intensive and a sensitive product to make. We’ve had to learn how to lower our waste, bake in higher volumes, all while keeping the product made from scratch, by hand, daily. Quality product doesn’t come cheap and your profit ratio can be low on certain flavors. But we have kept making some favorites in order to continue our mission statement. To create Happiness, One Slice At A Time.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Pie Hole Los Angeles story. Tell us more about the business.
Everything from our dough to our whipped cream is made by hand, from scratch. We make sweet and savory pies and offer unique flavors like Earl Grey Tea and Mac ‘n Cheese Pot Pie. We are known for offering a small, but unique menu of quality pie. At the same time, we curated a signature, organic coffee that is roasted locally. Some of LA’s best coffee can be found at The Pie Hole. We are most proud of our customer service. We strived from the beginning to offer excellent customer service and give our customers an experience every time they visit. Happiness, One Slice At A Time is not just about an amazing slice of pie and incredible cup of coffee, but about the love and respect our staff gives you when you come through our doors. What sets us apart is quality, originality and that we think Pie Is Love. You can taste the love in every bite.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think we were extremely lucky to find our first location in the Art’s District of Downtown, LA. The area was not what it is today, and there was no indication that we would be successful down there. But people came from day one and our business grew as the neighborhood grew. Maybe people credit us as one of the businesses that made the Art’s District popular but are only plan when we found our spot was to sell quality pie and embrace what made the area so interesting and historic. I think we were lucky to have found each other!
Contact Info:
- Address: 714 Traction Ave LA
6314 Hollywood Blvd
59 E. Colorado Blvd
The Americana At Brand - Website: www.thepieholela.com
- Phone: 2135370115 – DTLA location
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @thepieholela
- Facebook: @thepieholela
- Twitter: @thepieholela
- Yelp: varies
