Hey pie fans,
I just wanted to express my gratitude for each and every one of you who came to the Bloomfield market yesterday to make it not only our strongest season opener yet, but our very best market ever! It was wonderful to see many, many familiar faces and plenty of new faces, too. I wish I could have spent more time catching up with every one of you—the long line of folks waiting for pie made that difficult! To all those who got there late after we sold out of quiche and savory pies, know that we'll do our best to bring more next time!
I'm honored that, after a long winter of few markets, so many of you loyal customers returned in force to welcome us into a new season, and it brings me joy to know you're out there in the world right now enjoying our pies. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We could not make pies without your support.
To the regulars whom I forgot to give pie bark to (you know who you are): I apologize! Next I see you, I'll hook you up :).
Here are a couple of notes for this coming week:
Mother's Day Saffron Rose Meringue Pie
We're running a Mother's Day special next weekend for the holiday, a fragrant and delicate treat any mom is sure to enjoy: our Saffron Rose Meringue Pie. Imagine our classic butter flaky crust with a generous layer of apricot jam spread on the bottom, then filled with a vibrant and unexpectedly delicious layer of saffron custard, topped with rose-flavored meringue piped on top. We'll be making several for the Bloomfield Saturday Market and the Squirrel Hill Market on Sunday, but if you'd like to guarantee that you'll get one, please order online here.
If you're having difficulty with the form (one customer reported that they did recently), please email us at pghpieguy@gmail.com with the size and number of Saffron Rose Meringue pies you would like (mediums run for $12, larges for $40), and whether you'd like to pick them up at the Bloomfield Market on Saturday or the Squirrel Hill Market on Sunday.
Other Flavors This Coming Week
Besides the Saffron Rose Meringue, we have some other exciting flavors on offer this coming week, the most exciting of which is rhubarb pie! We were able to secure some fresh, local rhubarb from Greenawalt Farms yesterday and will be kicking off our seasonal fruit pie series with it. Another highlight is that our Beef Pho Handpie is making a reappearance, and the Mushroom Potato Leek Handpie is back. Here's the full rundown:
Savory
mushroom potato leek
jerk sweet potato black bean
Tuscan white bean & kale
beef pho
Berbere beef
five-spice pork & apple
jambalaya (with shrimp & pork)
Quiche
tomato basil ricotta
smoked salmon & gouda
Sweet
rhubarb
lemon
chocolate bourbon pecan
saffron rose meringue
Service Charges for Credit Card Customers
As some of you noticed at Bloomfield, as of yesterday (May 4, 2024) we are now charging a 3% service charge on all credit card transactions to offset the costs of credit card processing fees. While this means a small price increase on your end, it amounts to thousands of dollars per year on ours. As a very small business, that is a difficult bill for us to afford.
While we are happy to continue to offer payment by credit card at all our farmers' market locations, we will be applying the 3% fee henceforth. Cash is very much our preferred method of receiving payment, and I encourage you all to buy your pies in cash. Despite all the changes that the pandemic brought, cash is still king, at least in pie town!
The Just Harvest tokens are also a excellent way to pay for pies without being charged the service fee—for those of you who aren't aware, you can run your credit, debit, or EBT card at the Just Harvest booth for an equivalent dollar amount in tokens, without any extra fee or cost, which you can spend at any participating farmers' market booth (and just about all vendors participate).
We appreciate your understanding and continued support. We would like to stick around and make pies for the people of Pittsburgh for many years to come, and this will greatly help us achieve that goal.
Thank you!
-Lou the Pie Guy
