Up Close & Personal with Pie Maven Lori Rae of Fork & Crust Pie Company
Lori Rae of Fork & Crust Pie Company says, “I wasn’t looking for pies; instead, they found me.” The story of how Lori went from her busy soccer-mom lifestyle to the region’s pie maven is one of inspiration and hope. If you’re like us and love Lori Rae’s pies, then you’ll love the stories she shared recently when we sat down to interview her for this profile. Here, she talks about the day she and her daughter found hope in cherry pie, and what it’s like to live on just four hours of sleep a night!
You have said before, and it’s written on your website, that pie found you. What do you mean by that?
I was a stay at home mom for many many years with four children at home with me. If you would have told me that I would have a pie shop one day, I would have laughed. This is so far from what I wanted to do.
When I say pie found me, I’m talking about how making pie helped me and my family through a really tough time. For many years, my daughter was a competitive soccer player and she was getting ready to play soccer in college when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition. That was very traumatic for her and our whole family. We went from living and breathing soccer and planning for her future as a soccer player in college, to her being dropped from the college she signed at and for us traveling to see doctors all around the country to get her the right treatment.
During that time, my daughter asked me if I would help her make a hand-pitted cherry pie. We had seen someone making one on a TV show. I went out and got the ingredients, and we enjoyed the process of making this beautiful pie from scratch together. We made more and more pies together, and it was a therapeutic experience for us.
I say pie found me because I watched how our family changed and how baking pie transformed my daughter and gave her something new to focus on, and the realization that everything was going to be okay.
How did you go from there to running this successful business, with two stores and a team of 30 employees, and an industrial kitchen?
I started making little pies and selling them at a local farmers market. I had people coming to me from different restaurants and stores who wanted to carry them. After four months of doing that, I knew I had something special so I rented a kitchen and started off baking and selling pies wholesale. The pies were essentially selling themselves.
Fork & Crust Pie Company’s newest location in Fayetteville is the epitome of what Lori envisioned a “Pie House” to be: Old white farm house feel in the heart of a walkable historic neighborhood where you can enjoy pie and pie socials on the front porch and outdoor patios with plenty of front door parking.
We opened our first pie shop in Rogers almost four years ago and then last year, I found this fantastic, adorable older house in the historic district in Fayetteville and opened my second shop there. The house is a statement (we call it The Pie House), it screams pie shop! It’s funny because we moved to the area 23 years ago and there was a different business in the building. We always loved that house, and now I have a pie shop there. From there, it’s really been a blur.
Lori and her team of bakers hand roll every single pie they make in their industrial kitchen in Bentonville, which are then sold out of two pie shop locations, one in Rogers and the other in Fayetteville.
How do you manage to bake so many pies?
Well, I only get about four hours of sleep a night. From the wee hours of the morning I am baking pies and working. I have an amazing team of people who help me in the kitchen and in the stores, they are like my family. They all work really hard and are incredibly talented.
The menu at Fork & Crust Pie Company features many signature, everyday pies, including the hand-pitted Cherry Crumb Pie, with seasonal varieties of pie, that come in slices of whole pies, whole pie samplers or whole pies.
Let’s talk pie. What’s your favorite pie?
I have a lot of favorites. Obviously the Cherry Crumb because that’s the original pie that helped my family so much so many years ago. But I also love the Strawberry Rhubarb and Peach Apricot Blackberry.
What’s your most popular pie?
Our traditional pies are always popular. The creams and apples always go and a crowd favorite is the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan.
What is your pie-baking pro tip?
It’s very simple: If you want to make a pie, just make a pie. Anyone can. It’s an easy thing to make. People get intimidated by pie, but there’s nothing to be afraid of.
What is a little known fact about you?
If I wasn’t here, baking pie, I would be skydiving. (Above: Lori is all smiles on a recent tandem jump). It’s a rush and a thrill, but also the most quiet, serene place. I can’t get enough of skydiving, but I can’t ever seem to get away from the kitchen.
We love to ask our localistas what their favorite local places are. What are some of yours?
I love everything about NWA. There’s so much here plus just a quality of life & people. I’m so happy to have a business in this area.
My husband and I love to eat at several places locally! And I have a long list of favorites and specials since I also love to go out to eat with my family and my mom often, plus I’m a vegetarian so I there are tons of options. In Bentonville, we love The Preacher’s Son starting with dinner first upstairs (the roasted cauliflower is a must have for me) then followed by drinks downstairs at The Undercroft (That’s our fav date night spot!). At Oven & Tap, I love the Brussels sprouts & chopped egg salad when in season, the pimento cheese & sourdough and an absolute must-have is the Spicy Joe’s pizza with no pepperoni & extra jalapeños is perfection!). At Tavola Trattoria, my faves are the tomato sage soup & pappardelle with pomodoro sauce.
In Rogers, at Local Lime I’m addicted to the zucchini salsa and spinach & poblano tamales. A new fave is Three Cents an Acre located at Ozark Beer Company in downtown Rogers – best hush puppies ever and the chef’s green tomato & pimento cheese po-boy is fabulous. At Bocca (with locations in Fayetteville & Rogers), must-haves are the Gorgonzola salad and at Wood Stone Craft Pizza in Fayetteville, the Mason jar trio is perfection.
For shopping, since I work so much baking behind the scenes, Lululemon Fayetteville is my basic wardrobe but when I shop local my go-tos are Lola, Ropa Boutique or SoHo Clothiers. We moved from St. Louis, so it’s just so nice to be among such a small, tight knit community that is so welcoming and friendly. Plus, I don’t miss the traffic issues of city life!
What are some new ideas and what’s currently in the works at Fork & Crust Pie Company?
I’m changing up some menu items and focusing on what we do best and that’s pie. I do plan to offer more GLUTEN FRIENDLY & VEGAN options beginning in June. So look for that plus working on a Bentonville shop since my kitchen is there. I’m so incredibly lucky to be able to do this. So thankful for our customers!
Those strawberry rhubarb pies Lori loves so much are coming into season, and we believe that there’s never a day that couldn’t be cheered up with a little pie. This summer, Fork & Crust Pie Company will be open later and will introduce even more goodies on their menus so be sure to follow them on Instagram for summer hours at each of their locations and to check their daily specials and keep track of special events.