Business is good when it comes to pies. Jane Callahan has been delivering her from-scratch pies to area groceries, restaurant and farmers markets since 2010. In September 2012, Callahan opened a Pie Oh My! brick and mortar in Maplewood. Yesterday, she announced plans for a pie-touting food truck.
Callahan views adding a mobile element to her business as a great incremental approach to expansion, rather than adding another shop location. “I’m delighted with the response to the storefront, and I talked with some people in the food truck industry, and they were welcoming and encouraging,” she said.
Callahan plans for the truck to be an extension of what she does in the store, serving up individual pies, slices of pie and quiche. She also hopes to add savory potpies to her repertoire.
She acquired her truck this fall with a bit of serendipity. She had planned to drive to Illinois to check out a food truck for sale when she heard about a Hostess’ auction on the radio. There were more than 200 Hostess vehicles for sale, along with cupcake pans, Twinkie molds and the like. Callahan made plans to attend. “It was really interesting,” she said. “For some of these guys, this was their business. They were planning on buying a dozen trucks. Then here’s me. I just want one.”
Callahan’s hope is to have her Pie Oh My! food truck on the streets by early spring 2014; we hope to see her at Food Truck Friday!
-photo by Greg Rannells
This article appears in December 2013.