Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan and Lisa Maclellan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Morgan, Lisa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Morgan: Lisa and I met and fell in love at the University of Georgia. I remember when Your Pie opened while we were in college and reading about how the founders were inspired by their honeymoon in Ischia—an island off the coast of Naples, I lived in Italy during childhood, so the mention of Ischia immediately caught my eye.
While in school, Your Pie quickly became one of my favorite places – I’d get the Ischia just as it comes (Fresh mozzarella, olive oil, fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil – baked in a brick oven). After graduation, Lisa and I got married and settled into corporate jobs. Over time, I didn’t see a future in what I was doing in the insurance world, so I started to research what owning my own business would look like.
Lisa: We love the pizza at Your Pie; plus we’ve always loved entertaining and how food & beer bring people together, so this seemed like a natural extension of that. We decided to take the plunge into small business restaurant life, and it’s been an adventure ever since!
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?
Morgan: We’ve had a lot of ups and a few downs along the way. When we opened our first restaurant in Dunwoody (known as Your Pie Perimeter) back in 2015, I was in the store all the time and acting as the General Manager. As we grew and looked ahead to the second store, we hoped to open in Grant Park, I began building up my team and key leaders.
Fast forward a bit, we opened our Grant Park store on a snow day in early December 2017. We were expecting our first child in January, but she was born early, just two weeks after our Grant Park store opened! Our biggest struggle in Grant Park has been issues with the parking deck at The George—it was closed for over six months, but we’re thrilled to announce that it has just reopened.
Lisa: I was very pregnant during our grand opening in Grant Park but super excited to be able to be a part of it. Grant Park is our neighborhood, and it’s been such a blessing to contribute to everything fun, new and local that our community has going on right now! As Morgan mentioned, a big struggle for us in Grant Park has been our parking deck. It was shut down for structural/engineering issues about a month after we opened. When we picked this spot, we were counting on having easy, free & accessible parking, so it’s been very challenging to overcome that.
As small business people, this is our livelihood to support our young family, so it has been difficult to watch something we worked hard to build be compromised by something completely out of our control. Like Morgan said, our parking deck is now open again, so we encourage everyone to come out and see us—we promise you a better parking experience and some truly delicious pizza!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Morgan: At Your Pie, we specialize in made to order brick oven pizza that is ready in minutes. With lots of topping options, you can customize your pie with exactly what you’re in the mood for. Our pizzas are 10 in. personal size, so for $8.50 we’re a delicious lunch or dinner and a family friendly spot for the kids. We have kids’ meals, panini sandwiches and gelato—which is a favorite for customers of all ages.
Aside from the pizza, I’d say we’re known for having an impressive craft beer selection at reasonable prices (Like Tropicalia for $6/pint. We usually have a $3.14 craft beer pint special that rotates periodically, it’s Eventide’s Irish Nitro at the moment). We skew local & seasonal – both my wife and I love beer, so we’re always looking for the next tasty pint to bring in. We just introduced our BBQ Bacon Mac & Cheese pizza for fall, and we’re super excited for the unique twist on a favorite comfort food!
Lisa: We also have a rotating line up of adult slushies. My favorite right now is the Boozy Blueberry Lemonade slushie. In our area, there are not many quick lunch spots where you can enjoy delicious food, sit down and chat with co-workers (and play Nintendo!), all for around $10. As locals, we saw that gap in the market and have enjoyed helping to meet that need. We’ve enjoyed creating a fun culture for our team, and our General Manager, Channing Hallford, is passionate about making delicious pizzas, fast for our guests.
What were you like growing up?
Morgan: Growing up I was really into computer gaming. My dad would wake up at 5 am to find me on a gaming bender pretty regularly. I left most of that behind in college and had my first experience in the service industry, bartending at Buddha Bar in Athens. I ended up serving as president of my fraternity, and now one of my favorite parts of being a local restaurant owner is all the people I get to meet on a daily basis.
Seeing my father’s business endeavors while growing up inspired me to become an entrepreneur – my first “job” was at his corn maze in 7th grade and my second was cleaning bathrooms in our family’s bed and breakfast. (I still love playing some computer games if I have some downtime though – retro RPG Avernum 3 has been great lately).
Lisa: I moved around a bit growing up and ended up in Peachtree City where I enjoyed driving a golf cart around town. Going into UGA, I knew I wanted to study business, but it was only after I got into it that I realized my main interest was marketing and the people aspect of running a business.
Morgan and I are passionate about craft beer, too, so it’s been fun to make it out to visit the ever-growing list of local breweries. Eventide Brewing is one of our favorites—we love the team over there and love getting to support our neighborhood in Grant Park!
Pricing:
- $8.50: 10 in. personal size pizza with your choice of toppings
- $5.98: Kids meal, includes a small kids pie, kids drink and scoop of gelato
- Rotating $3.14 craft beer pint special
Contact Info:
- Address: 275 Memorial Dr. SE, Suite B1 Atlanta, GA 30312
- Website: https://yourpie.com/stores/atlanta-grant-park/
- Phone: 678-399-3838
- Email: Lmaclellan@yourpie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourpiegp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourpiegp
- Other: https://untappd.com/v/your-pie/6938489
Image Credit:
Billy Achtman @modernsights, Channing Hallford
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.
