Carina Smith loves pie. She loves pie so much that weekly drives to pie shops in Minneapolis and St. Paul once seemed a necessity.

Then, in 2022, Smith launched her own pie shop. Through Pieway to Heaven, the Eden Prairie resident now fills a pie shop void in the southwest metro area, baking up orders for individuals, companies and weddings out of her home.

Smith likes to say she offers “pies of all bites and sizes,” including whole pies, mini pies and pie bites. All the options offer a quality unique to homemade pie.

“This is something that you cannot find in a grocery store,” she said. “You have to go to a pie shop, whether it be a pie shop in Minneapolis-St. Paul or Pieway to Heaven. You’re not going to find it at your local grocery store.”

Part of the magic of independent pie shops is nostalgia. Smith hopes her pies, made with simple ingredients and simple tools, bring people back to their grandmothers’ kitchens.

“I was always inspired by my own grandmother,” Smith said. “She was a terrible baker, but those memories were so precious to me, and if I can create something that would wake up those nostalgic memories, then my goal has been met.”

Memories with her grandmother are just one part of Smith’s family legacy that flavor her business. Smith comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, an experience that gave her added confidence and insight into starting her own business.

She was already working as an independent personal trainer, so Smith was no stranger to running a company. But launching Pieway to Heaven brought new challenges, particularly with social media.

Learning all the administrative demands of running a business in the age of social media hasn’t always been smooth.

Challenged to create more videos of her baking process, Smith once set up a camera to record her creating a pecan pie for the Kentucky Derby. Pulling the pie out of the oven, Smith walked it over to give the camera a closer look. Fresh from the oven, the soft pie filling slipped and slid around. The pie ultimately survived after some rearranging and Smith ended up sharing the video as a behind-the-scenes blooper and a reason why you don’t see many baking videos on her account. 

On days when the administrative and marketing sides of running a business becomes frustrating, Smith remembers the customer relationships that make it all worthwhile. Often, customers will share what events their pie requests are for, which Smith says “gives me a deeper sense of joy that they’ve trusted me to do this.” 

Talking with her customers enables Smith to create special designs.

She remembers one particularly special pie she created for a customer. Ordered for their brother’s birthday, the pie contained the message “yes, you are loved” spelled out in the top crust. The customer’s brother has autism and speaks only a few words. While on vacation in Florida, someone wrote in the sand, “yes, you are loved,” a phrase he repeated and now says often. Creating special moments like this and building relationships over pie brings joy to Smith.

Smith credits the local community with much of her joy and success. Joining the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce has brought Smith connections and skills to grow her business.

She recommends this resource to anyone building their own business. “The process (of starting a business) can feel overwhelming, but if you have the right community around you, then it’s less overwhelming,” Smith said.

Support can be especially helpful in the busiest seasons and in sticking to boundaries, something Smith’s family learned the hard way.

One year her daughter decided to join a craft market the weekend after Thanksgiving and invited Smith to join with her pies. Working all together, the family pulled it off, but it meant no Thanksgiving dinner as the whole family helped bake, set up on Thanksgiving Day, and then spent the weekend working the market. The family learned these were sacrifices they weren’t willing to make again. 

That doesn’t mean Smith is slowing down; in fact, drawing these boundaries allows her to focus on filling pie orders while maintaining a personal life. This balance is especially important as Smith takes on grandma duties this year and looks forward to creating baking memories with her own grandchildren. 

She has a close handle on the seasonal nature of her business. “Thanksgiving is like the marathon, Christmas is like a mini marathon, and Pi Day in March is another mini marathon,” Smith said. “Everything else is pretty steady.” 

Smith starts prepping for Thanksgiving in September, using the slower month to plan timing and designs. She asks herself, “What do I want those pies to look like that would make their Thanksgiving table elevated and extra special? You can just go to the grocery store and pick up any pie; I want something to be a little more special for them.” 

Once the week rolls around, Smith is baking around the clock, getting about three hours of sleep each night and now hiring help. But it’s all worth it when customers create memories around her pies. 

In addition to looking beautiful, Smith’s pies contain as many local and sustainably sourced ingredients as possible. Fruit is organic and Minnesota grown as much as possible, and her butter and vanilla are sourced from local companies.

Smith wants her customers to feel good that “when you support a local business, as a local business I’m trying to support other local businesses so the circle just keeps turning.”

This fall, Smith has an extra incentive to build community around pie. She is partnering with PROP Food to give customers the opportunity to purchase a pie that will be donated to PROP in November.

Pies can be purchased through the end of September.

Full of the joy of supporting community relationships, Smith smiles as she gushes,

“I am such a big believer in relationship building within your own community,” she said. “I think that’s something special that we should never ever try to lose, and why not do that over a slice of pie?”

To order from Pieway to Heaven – including pie donations for PROP through September – visit the Pieway to Heaven website.

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series highlighting home bakeries in Eden Prairie. To suggest a bakery, email editor@eplocalnews.org.