NEW ALBANY — A New Albany resident is taking a big step forward just seven months after launching her own business during the pandemic.
After months at the New Albany Farmers Market, Lillie Weber, owner of Hoosier Girl Pie, recently expanded her business by moving her operations to MESA, A Collaborative Kitchen in downtown New Albany.
At MESA, she sells pie by the slice, as well as half and whole pies. In addition to pies, her bakery includes treats such as cookies and marshmallows.
Hoosier Girl Pie is the latest “incubator” business to move into MESA. The incubator program allows small businesses and start-ups to use the kitchen during the day.
“Being with MESA is super cool, because during the day, they aren’t using this space, and so they are really helpful with small businesses, because they have so much guidance,” Weber said.
Weber launched Hoosier Girl Pie after graduating from Lindenwood University in St. Louis in May with a degree in musical theater.
However, there were not many options available to her with the pandemic’s effect on theater, and she had just completed an invasive hip surgery, Weber said.
She is a self-taught pie-maker, and about a year earlier, she “fell in love” with pie as she baked her way through a cookbook called the “Hoosier Mama Book of Pie.”
“In that year of baking my way through a hundred different recipes, I was kind of like, I really like this,” Weber said. “I started to build my own recipes, and it just kind of grew, so when I knew I was going home for the summer, I took a chance.”
The business launched when Weber set up at the New Albany Farmers Market this May.
The pies range from sweet to savory, and Weber is constantly experimenting with new flavor combinations.
“Our vibe is vintage but with a twist — we love traditional pies, but we also want to bring our own style to the picture,” she said.
The most popular pie of the holiday season is her Buckeye Chess Pie, which combines peanut butter and chocolate.
One of her favorite savory pies on the menu is her Bank and Market Pie, which is inspired by the New Albany Farmers Market. The pie includes Italian sausage, bell peppers, onion, garlic and tomato sauce.
“During peak season of the farmers market, you can find every ingredient there,” Weber said.
The Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie is a sweet pie — “it is the unofficial state pie of Indiana, as I have been informed,” Weber said. “It is absolutely amazing, and it’s like a slice of home. There is no other way to describe it.”
Weber’s mother, Heidi Weber, is part of the Hoosier Girl Pie team, and she is proud of what her daughter has accomplished over the past months.
“It’s rather amazing that out of this pandemic she is creating a business,” she said. “I am just super proud of her, and she’s just amazing. She’s like an Energizer Bunny — she doesn’t stop, and the ideas just keep coming.”
Pies are available for pre-order online at https://www.hoosiergirlpie.com, and people can pick up their orders Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at MESA and between 10 a.m. and noon Saturday at the New Albany Farmers Market.
The Link LonkDecember 23, 2020 at 06:00PM
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Hoosier Girl Pie opens at MESA in downtown New Albany - Evening News and Tribune
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