Here at The Bedford Mom we love sharing about and celebrating local businesses! This month we are excited to feature Slightly Crooked Pies, a licensed homestead business that sells pies online and at a small number of retails in the Bedford/Manchester area. This business owner prides herself on flavorful, memorable pies crafted with high quality ingredients, not high amounts of sugar and seeks to make people happy through pie! Learn all about the owner Lauren, a local mom, and her awesome small business below!
Tell us about yourself!
Oh, you know, I’m just a middle aged mom still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. It’s been fun so far! I’ve been a radio DJ, a television news reporter, a corporate communications pro, and now a baker (with some obligatory waitressing stints thrown in). The latter is probably most surprising to people who know me best because when I was in my 20s, I’m pretty sure my lack of kitchen skills made my parents worry I would starve to death. Also, nobody then would have expected me to live in a 230 year old farmhouse in New Hampshire! But if you make good choices, you wind up right where you belong. I’m fortunate to be married to the most wonderful man in the world and we have a beautiful, healthy family of humans and canines. Everything else is just gravy.
Tell us about your business!
Slightly Crooked Pies is one of those things that just happened when nobody else was looking (including me!). My Facebook memories confirm that I have a strong history baking and talking about pies. The first one I made was for a Thanksgiving dinner in 2002. It was so easy and people loved it! I was amazed, so I kept making pies. Eventually a friend said, “you could sell these. I’d buy one.” So I did and she did and so did a whole lot of other people.
Things got real in early 2021 when Mandy Underwood at the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill asked me to sell in the Farm Stand. Then Steve Freeman at Angela’s Pasta & Cheese Shop did likewise, and Claudia Barrett at Flight Coffee Co. featured me as a baker for a month. I got a homestead license from the town (which has been great to work with) and registered as an LLC.
Our (ok, my) pies are all made from scratch and I try to stay as seasonal as possible. Some fruits work well frozen, like blueberry, raspberry, and cherry, so those ingredients are available year-round. Others, like apple, rhubarb, and cranberry, have their seasons. By the time you get to spring or summer, apples are still available, but they’re not as optimal for pie. Cranberries and rhubarb have a woefully short season, so you’ve got to get those while you can!
All of the crust is homemade and I’m now offering both gluten-free and dairy-free options. I really love when a customer comes to me with a dietary restriction and we’re able to figure out a way for them to enjoy pie! Unfortunately, as a homestead business, I’m not able to sell anything that requires refrigeration, like custards or cream pies—so no pumpkin or lemon meringue just yet.
What does a “day in the life” look like for you?
The only thing consistent is that I get up very early and spend a lot of time trying to wake up! My husband leaves the house a little after 5 each morning, so I get my son ready for school, take care of the dogs, and eventually get my act together. The pie business is still technically part time, and I supplement with writing and communications consulting for clients. On any given day I’m going back and forth between making dough, writing press releases, working on social media campaigns and planning new ways to grow business.
What are your goals for your business in the next 3-5 years?
As much fun as it is working in my own crooked kitchen, I hope to have a shop someday—at the very least, an independent kitchen where I can have a commercial license and no restrictions on products. I also want to be able to do more frequent large-scale events and jar my fillings for sale.
A major part of the desire to have a shop, however, is to create the kind of sensory environment that pies mean to me. I want to evoke that feeling and excitement of being a kid and standing with your face pressed to the glass of a gorgeous pastry case. When people find out I bake pies, so many of them immediately share a story or memory about their grandmother’s recipe or the pie their mom made them every year for their birthday. Pies are warm and welcoming and I want a place where people can share in that experience, even if they’re just coming in for a minute to pick something up. So if anyone knows of available space, let me know!
What are your favorites local spots in town?
The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill is my absolute favorite place in town. It’s been so exciting to see it grow and thrive and really become a town center for Bedford. I gave up my garden plot there last year but I still try to get up there on late summer evenings. There’s nothing quite like taking in a deep breath of fresh farm air when the sun gets low on a wam day. Heaven!
What is your best piece of advice for people looking to start a business?
I’m just starting on this journey of owning my own business but I think the single greatest thing people should be aware of is that others are willing to help you! So don’t be afraid to ask.
Where did your business name come from?
The name of the business is cRooked, not cooked. I’ve had people look at the label and ask if they need to finish baking the pie at home, so I redesigned the label. Slightly Crooked Pies is inspired by the very crooked kitchen where it started. The kitchen of our home is the oldest part, dating as far back as the 1740s. Everything is sloped. The first pie I baked in the gloriously oversized oven was pumpkin and, well, it came out lopsided. Even after adjusting the oven feet I will sometimes get a slightly crooked pecan pie!
How can people connect with you and follow your business?
Slightly Crooked Pies is online at slightlycrookedpies.com, on Facebook (facebook.com/slightlycrookedpies) and on Instagram (@slightlycrookedpies). You can also email me at crookedpies@gmail.com!