Be Happy Pie Company prepares for Thanksgiving rush

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - With Thanksgiving dinner right around the corner, an Evansville bakery is preparing for a busy Thanksgiving rush.

No matter which of its many forms it takes, pie is a staple of the Thanksgiving table.

“It’s the most important thing,” said Be Happy Pie Company owner, Jenny Lamble.

“Everyone has at least one pie that will always make an appearance,” said Be Happy Pie Company employee, Gentry Fleck.

Since 2015, the Be Happy Pie Company has been selling a wide variety of pies, all made from scratch. They say Thanksgiving is a unique challenge for them.

“We have a lot of work to do,” said Lamble. “We have a lot of crusts to make, so we’re looking at hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pies.”

The work begins well in advance, and they stop accepting Thanksgiving orders on the November 15th.

They say this time of year has the most concentrated demand. In contrast, they say people have Christmas parties and give corporate gifts throughout December; but everyone wants their Thanksgiving pies on the day itself.

“We love this time of year around here,” said Be Happy Pie Company employee, Emily Eades. “No matter how much we might say it’s crazy, it’s the best time of year.”

Automation has made a big difference for the bakery. When it started they say they rolled all their dough by hand, but their dough press makes the work much easier. Unfortunately for them, the dough for their pie bites must still be rolled and formed by hand.

They say Evansville’s favorite pie flavors are pecan, cherry, apple, and coconut cream. They say the tri-state takes dessert very seriously.

“We have people calling months out, not necessarily for Thanksgiving, any order, ‘Is it too early to place an order for four months out?’ And we’re like ‘No, not at all, we’ll take it now,’” said Fleck.

They say they feel a lot of pressure to make sure their customers have the best holiday meal possible, and occasionally have some unruly customers try to sneak peeks at other people’s orders, but people are generally happy and excited to see them.

“It’s Thanksgiving, it’s dessert, so who’s not in a good mood when you come in to the Be Happy Pie Company? And if you’re not, that’s our mission: to make you feel better,” said Lamble.

Making a pie can be a complicated process, but they all agree on their favorite part of it.

“Is eating it an option?” said Fleck.

The Be Happy Pie Company is already taking orders for Christmas.

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