Take a stroll down Driggs Avenue — past McGuiness Boulevard and the entrance of McGolrick Park — and you’ll find an unassuming storefront under a chocolate brown awning. Its name, Pie Corps, is emblazoned in white; its windows provide a glimpse into a sweet and savory world beloved by neighborhood foodies since its debut in 2012.
As it turns out, Pie Corps’s is a story that nearly didn’t happen. “I had been a chef for 30 years before opening the shop,” says Cheryl Perry, who co-founded the bakery alongside Felipa Lopez, an acupuncturist who brings a medicinal philosophy to the company’s culinary approach. “I’d had a restaurant in Manhattan, and when we closed, I swore I’d never open another business. But there was something about pie. I was intrigued by the sweet and savory possibilities, and the idea of using fresh, local ingredients. Pie is sculptural. It’s something you build, and I like that. That’s where Pie Corps started.”
These days, customers can take advantage of a rotating selection of seasonal pies, as well as a roster of popular classes for those inspired to recreate the goodness at home. “For a first-time baker, I’d recommend the Pie Crust Intensive,” Cheryl says. “It’s our most popular class. Crust is the most important element of a good pie — it’s the first thing you bite into. If you’re not liking your first bite of something, the rest of it suffers, too. We teach you the science of getting it right.”
What can sweets seekers look forward to at the shop this summer? “I’m most excited about our fruit pies — right now we have a strawberry with chocolate cobbler, a blueberry crumb, a rhubarb almond. Soon, we’ll have peaches and cherries. We’re looking forward to that.” She pauses. “It’s quintessential summer.”
Visit the Pie Corps for more information. Sign up for classes — including Cheryl’s Pie Crust Intensive — on CourseHorse.
This article was originally published by Shoko Wanger on CourseHorse