Made in Tarrant: Fort Worth pie shop bakes with Texas flavor to make recipes even sweeter

Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series about small businesses starting in Tarrant County.Submit your business here.

Lindsey Rowing is the founder, owner and head baker of Sweet Lucy’s Pies, located at 3520 Blue Bonnet Circle in Fort Worth. Founded in 2013, this pie shop offers a variety of seasonal flavors, always with a twist, from strawberry cream to salted honey, and its handmade puff pastry pies are raved about by fans. The store, named after Rowing’s 9-year-old daughter Lucy, opened in March 2023.

contact address:

Website: https://www.sweetlucyspies.com/

Email: order@sweetlucyspies.com

phone: 817-727-6009

The Fort Worth Report spoke with Lindsay Rowing about the history of the pie shop, seasonal flavors and future plans. This interview has been edited for clarity, grammar, and length.

David Moreno: I read on your website that you launched Sweet Lucy’s Pies in 2013 after your daughter Lucy was born. What inspired you to start this business? Were you baking bread before she was born?

Lindsay Rowing: As an afterthought, I’ve always worked in the food world. I was a server at several different restaurants over the years. From there, I started making bread in earnest. While attending school and working, I began to shift my focus to earning extra income. Through social media, I learned about a pie shop called Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn, New York, which became my inspiration. They were making pies that were really different and had really cool flavors.

I thought pies were really cool, but back then there wasn’t a wave of pie shops in the area. I had the opportunity to fill a void in Fort Worth.

Moreno: How has your business grown over the years?

law: Before that, I started in my home kitchen and then rented kitchens around Fort Worth. From there, it became a kind of mobile bakery that sold in pop-up shops.

Moreno: When did you realize Sweet Lucy’s Pies was growing in the community?

law: I’ll say it right away. I had some great mentors who guided me from my first market and saw the potential in what I was doing. Once I started selling on Clearfork, I was able to serve a wider audience and was able to quit my job and pursue this full-time. We now sell at events like the Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival. I have some of my first customers who have been with me since the beginning, and they are ride-or-die for me.

Moreno: How does the season inspire pie flavors? What are the most popular?

law: We change the menu weekly to rotate flavors. I like to follow the seasons, but I also like to ask myself, “How can I put a Sweet Girlfriend Lucy twist on it?” Spring brings us wonderfully delicious Texas strawberries, and summer brings us blueberries, blackberries, and Texas peaches. Whatever I find for the season, I try to do something to highlight it. I also love adding herbs from the farmers market to give my pies a unique flavor.

The most popular one right now is the strawberry cream pie called Sweet Lucy. It’s one of the classic flavors. The menu also includes salted honey pie, which has been a staple for many years. There’s also a pie called “Spring Pumpkin Pie.” It’s roasted carrots stewed with cinnamon, cardamom, and cream, and it’s delicious.

Moreno: How has things been since you opened your Sweet Lucy’s Pies brick-and-mortar store last year?

law: It was filled with many ups and downs. As you can imagine, opening a business in this economy is a good thing, but it also comes with challenges. As a self-taught businesswoman, I realized that day-to-day operating costs were not taken into account. Inflation has significantly increased the cost of supplying goods, hitting many locations and that has certainly affected our operations. If you’re trying to make a product by yourself, it can be difficult to juggle everything.

But we’re fortunate to have a great community of customers that support us and a great community in the area. Overall, I feel like we’ve weathered the storm so far.

Moreno: This shop is named after your daughter. What does she think about this shop?

law: (Lucy) likes to say she’s famous. She tells her friends, “My name is on the building.” She has always been an important part of the business. Because that’s how we’ve built our business. We wanted her to be that face because it’s part of my story. When she was her 3rd year old we took a video of her playing in the kitchen. Her sweet Lucy is hers and that’s what we call her.

Moreno: Where do you want this pie shop to go next year? What goals do you have?

law: We want to build a great small team that can grow our business. Currently, she has two girls who help her with retail and a part-time employee who helps her in the kitchen. For the most part, I can only do so much by myself (lol). As a single mother, I am focused not only on this place, but also on my daughter. I might move to a bigger place someday, but I’m very happy knowing that I’m here now. I’m fine with that.

David Moreno is a health reporter for The Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Please contact david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports With X.

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