Lisa's Pie Shop: In the Middle of Everywhere

Eighteen years ago, Lisa Sparks had a wake up call. A diagnosis of cancer and a brush with death during a very difficult recovery made her evaluate her life. Although the circumstances might have left others depressed and uncertain, they clarified things for her. As she lay in the hospital, she remembered the words of her grandmother who told her once, "Lisa, if you get handed a lemon, you can suck on it and experience the bitter. Or you can made lemonade and drink in the sweetness of it." Inspired by these words and determined to make her life a sweet one, Lisa quit her factory job which she'd "hated for years" and decided to open a pie shop in Kempton, Indiana (population 150).

Why a pie shop? It wasn't because Lisa loved eating or making pies. In fact neither is true. She doesn't like eating pie (she prefers cakes) and before starting her business she never made a pie. To this day, she's never tasted many of the pies that she sells in her quaint shop on U.S. 31 in Atlanta, Indiana. And yet she has thousands of customers from as far as Italy clamoring for her handmade pies and wins ribbon after ribbon year after year in national pie competitions!

So, what lead her down the path to pie entrepreneurship? Lisa's eyes sparkled with a combination of pride, gratitude, and determination as she told me that her life is a result of family and faith. When Lisa was growing up, her Mom kept Lisa and her siblings busy in the evenings with crafts. Knitting, crocheting, making potholders, and macrame were always part of the children's activities. When they wanted to buy something, the seven kids would get together, make something, and then go out to the neighbors and sell their handmade wares to raise money to buy whatever they had set their sights on. Lisa said that they all learned to be quick and good with their hands, to make a quality product, how to sell, and the importance of treating their customers right. The family developed a positive attitude of "we can do anything if we all work together".

Why she decided to start a pie shop remains a bit of a mystery to her. But she will tell you that she believes she was divinely inspired and that it is her strong faith that keeps her going. When you hear her story, you have to believe that. How else can you explain, she'll ask you, that the first pie she ever made in her life in 1990 would win the Grand Champion Pie ribbon in the Frankton Apple Festival? How else can you explain how her business quickly grew to a thriving enterprise where she was suppling thousands of pies a week to 36 food retailers in central Indiana? How else can you explain how several years ago, a new customer walked into her tiny Kempton shop and told her that a gas station on U.S. 31 was up for sale and that he thought she should look into it for her business? That suggestion stopped Lisa in her tracks. She'd never thought about moving out of Kempton, but something told her to explore the path now opening before her.

When she told her husband and a few family members about the property, they shook their heads in disbelief that she would even consider a move to such a desolate location on a stretch of highway. "That place is in the middle of nowhere!" one told her. Lisa disagreed. "I thought it was in the middle of everywhere! It was right in the center of our customer base." So, in 2002, on December 13 (her birthday), she opened Lisa's Pie Shop on U.S. 31. Her customer base continued to grow and she made the decision to sell directly to the customer keeping only one retail account--the Harvest Market in Middletown and Chesterville. "They were the first to sell my pies and I will always have a relationship with them." she told me.

Lisa has never advertised relying on word of mouth to supply her with a steady base of new customers for her 23 different pies and her latest product (and my latest culinary obsession) PIE IN A JAR. All the pies are handmade, many with fruit that Lisa grows in her own backyard and farm, and bear the signature hand carved fruit design that she personally carves on the top crust of each pie. But it's the pie in a jar that continues to delight me. I love the concept. Lisa developed the product because she could not bear to throw pies out at the end of the day and wanted to find a way to preserve them for later sale without losing the fresh taste and quality. "I come from a long line of canners." she explained to me. "In my family we put up alot of food for the winter so I thought maybe I could can the pies". Her intuition paid off and her PIE IN A JAR is a best seller. I love the packaging and that the fact that I can store that product in my pantry to be ready at a moment's notice for a quick dessert. It's a great gift  to send to friends and family (you can order these online). And what a handy item to pack in a picnic basket.

I asked Lisa how she compared to her competition. She told me she didn't know. She's never done any market research, evaluated anyone else's pies, or watches the daily production numbers. She prefers to keep her head down and work--the rest, she told me, takes care of itself. "You have to be present to today," she told me. "It's something my sister who passed away a few years ago told me. She told me to not waste my days, to be grateful for the day that I have been given, and be fully present in it. So that's what I do. I don't mourn yesterdays and I don't fret about tomorrow. I wake up every morning and am thankful for today. I am thankful for being able to walk, talk, breathe and go to work. It's a blessing to me."

Lisa, her son, and daughter-in-law now run the business. One, by the way, that has for 18 years been operated on a cash only basis. "I never wanted any debt. So I if I wanted something for the shop, I waited until I had the cash for it and then I bought it. To this day I pay my suppliers on the day they deliver my supplies. And it will always be that way!"

As I toured the kitchen, Lisa paused and said, "I wish I could take credit for all this but I can't. This business is the result of every person who ever washed a dish, swept the floor, grew fruit, delivered supplies, packed a box, and did everything else necessary to make this business a reality and a success. I remind myself every day that I didn't get here by myself. I have been blessed beyond my dreams and for that I am very grateful."

Lisa's Pie Shop
5995 S. U.S. 31
Atlanta, IN 46031
Phone: 317-758-6944
www.lisaspies.com

Comments

[Carla Shadiow]

Thank you, Lisa and co-workers, for a wonderful and special visit to your pie shop today-July 3rd. The five of us loved the strawberry-rhubarb pie, patriotic sugar cookies, and jam. We were humbled and inspired by your testimony of how God has worked through you and in your business. God bless you all.

[Stacie Davis]

Love it! The dutch apple is wonderful! Also had their award winning cherry (during the summer months) and it is fantastic as well!

[J]

Lisa's Pie Shop has a new url www.LisasPies.com

[Ashley Ledford]

I love Lisa's Pie Shop. I buy a sugar cream pie every now and then for my Dad when I head north for a weekend visit. My favorite is strawberry rhubarb...AMAZING!
I am so excited that you are now online! Best wishes.