Today we’d like to introduce you to Judy Balunda.
Judy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After retiring from teaching Special Education in Middle School for 21 years, I turned my skills to my lifelong passion of reading cookbooks to actually preparing the recipes. Pie was my passion, after all I grew up in Texas with my Mother, Rhoda, and her sister Sylvia, preparing those delicious Texas pies every weekend. I watched intensity as they threw in a bit of this and a bit of that and created the most delicious flaky crust with luscious fillings. Fall was an especially delightful time of picking pecans from the huge pecan trees then shelling them and turning roasted nuts into the most delicious pecan pie you ever tasted. I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait to grow up so that I could pick pecans from my yard and make pie with my little girl. Well, in life you don’t always have things work out the way we want.
My son was living with me when I retired, and I use to bake pies and cookies for him to take to work. I would bake once or twice a week, and think to myself what fun it would be to be the “executive pie chef” at his place of work. So that didn’t work out the way I had hoped. At the end of July, I was approached by an investor who had heard of my pies. He told me he found a little place in Grapevine that he thought would be perfect, for a vintage pie shop, and the rest is history. I have never looked back, but who has time.
In all of my life, I have never experienced anything like this. I feel like a rock star, only, I have done nothing to deserve that status. Yes, they are my recipes, but my Mother and Aunt were the keepers of them. Yes, I decorated the shop, but it’s just down to earth warm, and yes, I love speaking with all the guests who come to my living room and share pie.
I get very excited when we donate money to MHMR for Mental Health research. One of my x students makes a line of candy called Sweet Sara’s Sweets and we donate a portion of the sales for research and ending the stigma associated with mental health. I love giving back.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth ride, hardly. We opened, kind of, Grapefest 2016. We gave away 15,000 samples of pie. Next came October with all of the haunting events in Grapevine then the biggest pie event of the year, Thanksgiving and my daughter’s wedding the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a serious case of pneumonia, Christmas and Chanukkah and more pie, pie and wine pairings, beer and pie pairings, cider and pie pairings and more pie and wine pairings. Next came radio interviews and chefs leaving and employees and….. My first day off was the day after Christmas 2016. In my wildest dreams did I think that JudyPie would be the success that it is. Now, after my second (really the first) Grapefest, I have an amazing team of Pie Ristas and Chefs. I thought I was going to be the one making the pies, but there simply is no time for me to do that. I have 2 instructors from Le Cordon Bleu as my chefs and two other culinary trained chefs. Chef Choe is not only a great pie maker, but a chocolatier and sugar artist. In fact, we are just starting construction on a studio kitchen just for teaching classes. More great things to come from JudyPie. Yes, it has been a smooth ride.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the JudyPie story. Tell us more about the business.
JudyPie is unique because, I am the owner, and I work very hard at the pie shop. I have learned that a lot of business owners are not actually on site. You will find me there mostly in the evening. I take the night shift so that employees can be with their families. I’ve read numerous posts that reference not only the pie, but me as well. People say I “am very kind,” but I think it is the sweet customers who make me sweet. I love each and every pieier who comes through the doors into my Piekingdom. I am so proud of the success we have had, and I owe it to the me being on site and demanding high standards. I tell my employees that I do not pay their salary, the customers do, and believe me that is true. If a customer doesn’t clean their plate, I always ask if there was anything wrong. The answer is always the same, no! “We just can’t eat that much”. All of our ingredients are from scratch. We use real butter, and make our own whipped cream. We would never use a pre-made anything. If you request a pie not on the menu, I promise you, I will get the recipe and make it for you. I sincerely believe in doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy, and that is what makes me most happy… not to mention the adorable children who come in for pie. They are especially special to me.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Frequently, I am asked if I would be willing to Franchise JudyPie. If only I were 20 years younger, the sky would be the limit. Offering classes for children and adults seems to currently be the focus on my plate.
Pricing:
- You get what you pay for. Grocery store pie for a slice $3.00 JudyPie $7.00, all fresh.
Contact Info:
- Address: 520 S. Main Street, Suite 200,
Grapevine, TX 76051 - Website: www.JudyPie.com
- Phone: 817-300-9277, Judy 682-360-8880
- Email: Judy@JudyPie.com
- Instagram: Judypie_Mainstreet
- Facebook: JudyPie GrapevineMainstreet@JudyPieGrapevine
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