The History (so far) of Pie Fridays!

     Next week is Pie Friday's second birthday.  To celebrate I thought I'd tell its history since so many people ask me how it all started.
     First of all, the person to thank most, who, I feel, is practically one hundred percent responsible for Pie Fridays is my pie crazed husband Britt.  I first started making pies because Britt loves them.  I started making him berry crumbles and then graduated to pies, working on the crusts and fillings until they were exactly how I wanted them...and Britt was there, eating every failure and success I've ever made. 
      When I told him, totally out of the blue, that I think I'll sell my pies out of a cart on the street he was unquestionably supportive of it.  He went out there with me the first time and pretended like he wasn't nervous about it at all so that I wouldn't freak out. Now he's out there every Friday, after a long week of work, happily cutting pies with little more than a half a slice or two as payment.

     This was our first night selling pies on the street.  We sold out in an hour.  Dee Dee was hiding her excitement.

     Most of you know me and my pies from the pie cart but there are some people who were my very first Pie Friday customers way back in 2008 when I was a bartender at a dive of a bar called the Rite Spot. 
     Fridays were pretty slow when I inherited the shift so in order to pick it up a bit I started making pies at my house and bringing them in to sell.  I called it Pie Friday(of course!)  I hung two wooden signs on the beat up swinging doors.  One was cut into the shape of a hand with a finger pointing inside saying "Homemade pie inside" and the other was the sign you see on this website, stating the pies I was having that Friday.
     Word started to spread and I went from making one pie to two to eight and nine.  There was only one problem, for all the extra work I was doing, I wasn't making much extra money---the restaurant was.  It became more and more difficult for me to keep up with all the extra work when I had a gardening business at the time and was just starting up my greeting card business.(www.sundewhiteindustries.com )  So I was juggling a lot of things and getting really burned out  of making pies on my spare time but not making any money off of it.  The final nail in the coffin of Pie Fridays at the Rite Spot was when the owner's questionable business instincts guided him to have graffitti painted on the entire outside of his building--including on the windows!!  Giving the building the appearance of having been abandoned years earlier.  I was like, why am I putting all this energy into a restaurant where the owner is sabotaging everything?
      So I stopped making my pies--except for Britt of course!  But I still had all these pie recipes that I had perfected at the Rite Spot and I had a nagging feeling that those pies weren't done with me yet.

Pie Fridays at the Rite Spot...there are windows and a door underneath that graffitti.

     When the economy slowed down a bit a couple of years ago, I wanted to make some extra money, but how?  I did what most people do when they need to think--I layed down for an afternoon nap.  I had only just closed my eyes when a voice-- I think from the same pie gods that have kept it from raining on me this whole winter--came to me.  It said, "Sell your pies from a cart on the street."
     I got out of bed, walked into the office where Britt was working and told him the big news.
"Okay."  He said.
"But do you think that's too weird?" I asked.
"Nope."
"But seriously Britt, don't just be agreeable because it means you'll be eating more pie.  Should I really do this?"
"Ya, I think it's a good idea."
     So I drew out my idea of a cart, built it, and two weeks later I was wheeling it down Valencia, trying to visualize an anti embarressment protective shield surrounding me.  For someone who can't stand public attention of any kind, becoming a one person pie parade, toddling down Valencia was my worst nightmare.  I tucked into my corner you see me at today because there was a light and good foot traffic.
     The shy and embarressed side of me sat at that cart waiting for people to make fun of me but you know what?  They didn't.  From the very first day, people have always been nothing but curious, kind, caring and supportive. 
     So I sat at the pie cart...and sat, and sat, waiting for a customer.  I would arrive at 5pm and sit out there till 10:30, trying to sell my pies.  Through the wind and the cold I'd sit out there wearing snowboard pants, a knee length down jacket and two hats waiting for customers.  As people glanced at my cart and then kept walking I'd say to myself over and over again to make me feel better , "One day they'll wait in line for these pies." 
     And it worked!  People wait in line for my pies now.  I have to thank the people of San Francisco for how awesome they are.  You guys couldn't be more patient and friendly about standing in a slow moving line.

 There's the line I visualized!

     So what's next for Pie Fridays?  Although it's been a beautiful experience, I can't sell pies on the street forever.  I can feel San Francisco's health department and police breathing down my neck as Pie Fridays get a little more well known.  So I want to stay out through the summer and in the fall I'm going to do a Kickstarter campaign (check www.kickstarter.com if you don't know what that is.) to open a brick and mortar Pie Fridays.
     Britt and I have talked about this since I was selling pies at the Rite Spot.  It's going to be open late and I'm going to sell beer and wine, and a few savory items featuring pie dough that won't actually be savory pies but it's a surprise until I open our place. (That's a riddle wrapped up in a mystery!)
     So that's it for now.  Look for my Kickstarter campaign in September so that you can get my pies more often than just a two hour window every weekend.  I'll see you out there!
Sunde