Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody and Lauren Bolden.
Pie Bar opened on September 1, 2015. A line started to form about an hour before the doors were set to open, and panic began to set in for Pie Bar owners, Cody & Lauren Bolden.
After college, both Cody and Lauren began traditional jobs. He was in construction and she was in state government. Lauren felt that there was something missing from her life, and decided that it was pie. She began selling pies at farmers markets around town, baking pies for weddings, and pushing pies on people at Woodstock’s local brewery. After seeing the amounts of flour, butter, and sugar Lauren was going through, Cody decided to step in and turn a hobby into a business.
The doors opened on that first day and only a few hours in, Pie Bar had sold out of pie. It turns out, the people of Woodstock, Georgia, really loved pie. The two quickly closed and baked more pies, only to have the same thing happen for many weeks to come.
Three years later, Pie Bar has grown into a community gathering place that serves pie by the slice (with a cup of locally roasted coffee, of course), whole pies and even half-and-half pies for those people who can’t decide on just one flavor. Each pie is made in-house, by hand, using the freshest and local ingredients as possible. Pecans and Peaches are being sourced from South Georgia, Blueberries are coming from Cody and Lauren’s Hometown of Waynesboro, Georgia, and Apples are picked straight off the trees of North Georgia’s apple orchards.
Pie Bar strives to create an atmosphere that is welcoming and inclusive. Each time someone visits Pie Bar, they want to bring back the feeling of joy they had the first time they had a slice of really good pie.
Pie Bar is passionate about creating a pie that people love to eat and love to share.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Every business struggles at some point and Pie Bar has been no different. Our main struggle has come in the form of “learning by doing”. Since neither Cody nor I came from the food world before opening Pie Bar, we learned a lot by trial and error, and sometimes those errors came at a cost of losing a customer or having to replace someone’s pie. Fortunately, we have taken all of these challenges as learning experiences and used them as a point of growth both personally and professionally.
Pie Bar – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Pie Bar has been a part of the Downtown Woodstock Community for the past three years, and I am still so proud and excited each time someone visits our store. Each person who walks through our front door is allowing us the opportunity to affect their day in a positive way by providing them with friendly and helpful customer service as well as a great slice (or whole!) pie. We focus on creating a place and a pie that people enjoy sharing with their loved ones.
Pie Bar sells pie in many forms: slices of pie, whole pies, and half-and-half pies for those people who can’t decide on just one flavor. Each pie is a collection of our team members’ hard work starting with the all-butter pie crust that is made by hand to the sweet pie filling that is carefully mixed together to the final slice that is served to our guest.
We are more than a pie shop, we strive to be a part of our community one piece at a time.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Lauren: My most proud moment up to this point actually happened quite recently. We are fortunate enough to have a team of individuals who all take their roles in Pie Bar very seriously. They strive to create a positive experience for our guests and truly embody the spirit of working together for a common good.
I was standing in Pie Bar’s kitchen and was overwhelmed by the amount of pride I felt for my teammates. Our baking team was working together to create beautiful and delicious pies while our front of house team was assisting a line of customers that stretched out our front door. Each of them was giving their all and serving their community by providing something that makes people happy.
Cody: I would have to say my proudest moment up to this point has been that we have been able to build something that allows us to pay ourselves and five other people a full-time live-able wage.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8720 Main Street, #130
Woodstock, Georgia 30188 - Website: Orderpiebar.com
- Phone: 678-402-6245
- Email: hello@orderpiebar.com
- Instagram: .instagram.com/pie_bar
- Facebook: facebook.com/orderpiebar
Image Credit:
Caleb Jones Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
