Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Wilkes.
Emporium Pies started out as a dream shared by Megan Wilkes and Mary Sparks.
Megan was in the interior design industry, and Mary was studying hospitality management when the two were introduced by a mutual friend who knew both women had dreams of owning their own bakery. The young women realized that Dallas could use a bakery that created a product from scratch, by hand that also focused on a community environment, providing seating both indoors and outdoors with the invitation to stay a while. The humble beginnings of Emporium Pies, in two East Dallas apartment kitchens slowly grew to sell pies for the holidays at a few local businesses in 2011, and by September 2012 the business had its first brick and mortar shop at 314 N. Bishop Avenue in Dallas. When the shop opened, there were only three friends running the entire operation. It was quickly determined that there would need to be a much more robust staff to handle the pie hunger in Dallas, and so the shop began to grow.
After the first Thanksgiving (which involved an air mattress on the floor in the dining room of the shop and an all-nighter), the decision was made to build a larger kitchen and open a second store in the historic downtown McKinney Square, now there is also a third store in Deep Ellum. Five years in they still love baking pies and serving them up to all of the lovely people in Dallas.
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?
As with any business, there are challenges and we take great joy in overcoming obstacles. Our biggest challenge is that we had to grow very quickly to keep up with demand. It has been fun to learn how to scale our business and it has been wonderful to be able to add so many wonderful people to our team.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Emporium Pies story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a bakery that makes and sells fresh pies daily. Our pies are amazing because they are made by hand, from scratch, using our own recipes. We are known for our inventive recipes, especially our crusts. We stand behind our delicious pies with pride and we serve them each with love and hospitality.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think that there isn’t so much luck as seeing a need and filling it. There really wasn’t anywhere to go in Dallas and just grab a piece of pie. Our shop has been able to grow because so many people resonate with our mission of enjoying a great slice of pie in a fun environment.
Pricing:
- Whole Pies $30-$40 depending on flavor.
- Slices $6 each.
Contact Info:
- Address: 314 N Bishop Ave.,
Dallas, TX 75208 - Website: emporiumpies.com
- Phone: 469.206.6126
- Email: info@emporiumpies.com
- Instagram: emporiumpies
- Facebook: emporiumpies
- Twitter: emporiumpies
Image Credit:
Paul Wilkes
Kelsey Wilson
Andrew Shepherd
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas 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.
