KANSAS CITY, MO — Today’s consumers are busy, buzzing from one responsibility to the next, so it takes a special skill set to create something people will pause to enjoy. By championing craftsmanship, prioritizing quality and cultivating an inviting environment, Hoosier Mama Pie Co. answers this call.
“Pie is one of the ultimate slow foods,” said Paula Haney, owner of Hoosier Mama Pie. “You can’t really eat it in the car, although I’ve tried. You have to sit down and enjoy it.”
When the former fine dining pastry chef first moved to Chicago, there were plenty of classic French or old-school bakeries, but there weren’t many shops regularly making pies.
“For a long time, I said I would never open a bakery,” Paula recalled. “But with pie, I felt like I had an edge there, and it was something I could do.”
Since opening on “Pi Day” in 2009, Hoosier Mama — named after the nickname for students and alumni of Indiana University, Paula’s alma mater — has taken off, now boasting two brick-and-mortar locations and a stand in Lincoln Park’s farmers market.
Pie is not easy to dedicate a whole bakery to, but Hoosier Mama has it down to a science. The bakery team hand-rolls, preps and bakes hundreds of pies a week, crafting even more during the holiday season. Though the detailed process is labor-intensive, it makes all the difference in terms of the final product, and customers notice.
The holiday rush
Above all else, Hoosier Mama focuses on the quality of its pie. Ahead of Thanksgiving, for instance, the bakery opens a pared-down menu on October 1, with pre-order slots filling up within weeks. Paula and her team are also clear with customers about when and how the pie should be enjoyed, ensuring people get the best experience out of their purchase.
More than 140 savory and sweet pie flavors are sold on rotation throughout the year. While the tried-and-true varieties like apple, cherry and chocolate cream sustain a regular customer base, unexpected pie types, such as Hoosier sugar cream, colcannon and tomatillo, generate intrigue.
“[The whole team] contributes recipes, and we brainstorm what we want to work on,” Paula said. “I was all about very traditional pies and coming up with the best version of them, but it’s fun to see all these new flavors coming in.”
The difference is in the ingredients
Achieving these intricate creations is possible thanks to Hoosier Mama’s broad network of local farmers and ingredient suppliers, strengthened by years of connection. While that information may normally only be prudent for staff, it’s proudly listed on the bakery’s website and something customers have picked up on, with some being able to distinguish a different blueberry variety from one half of the season to the next, for instance.
“A good pie starts with good ingredients,” Paula said. “If you’re making an apple pie and you get apples that are ripened on a tree instead of shipped across the country, that’s the quality right there.”
The love for pie-making is evident in every hand-crimped, all-butter crust and meringue topping, and it’s just part of what keeps people coming back. By staying true to its hand-rolled recipes, getting creative with ingredient combinations and cultivating a welcoming environment, the shop serves as an ideal hub for people to take a beat and eat a carefully created slice of something delicious.
This story has been adapted from the July | A2 2026 Craft to Crumb special edition mini-mag. Read the full digital issue here.
