Babes Pie Co. Gears Up for a Busy Holiday Pie Season

Bergamaro pie from Babes Pie Co. Photos courtesy of Babes Pie Co.

It’s not “easy as pie” at Babes Pie Co. Co-owner Mar Keller does everything the hard way. That includes changing up the menu every month, making pie crusts from scratch and par-baking fruit fillings, as well as creating housemade custards, jams, caramels, brittles, infused whipped creams and other toppings.

“Pie is the most expensive and labor intensive thing you can make,” says Keller. “It takes three full days to produce for a weekend. The crust takes me four hours. I think the thing that makes our pies so special is that there are multiple components to each one of them. It makes a difference, and that’s why we’ve had a positive response.”

Part of that positive response is because Babes are not your average pies. You can buy varieties by the full pie, by the slice or as a hand pie for some of the fruit- and chocolate-filled varieties, like brown butter apple and malted milk and cookies bar.

The October menu features flavors like Key lime, chocolate cream and S’mores, and more specialized versions like Bergamaro (bergamot with a vanilla and chess pie filling – a Southern-style custard that’s set with eggs and flour – topped with Campari jam and chopped pistachios in a flaky crust that tastes like a “fancy Italian creamsicle”) and Black Sesame Banoffee (think banana-toffee with black sesame caramel, banana, whipped cream and black sesame toffee in a salted graham crust).

“I like creating things that don’t exist anywhere else,” says Keller.

Babes Pie Co. co-owners, Keller, and life and business partner Abby Lofberg, make a good team. Keller has worked in the hospitality industry since he was sixteen, clocking in at bakeries and kitchens for more than fifteen years. He graduated from Johnson & Wales University with a Bachelor’s degree in Baking & Pastry Arts, then went on to work as a pastry assistant at Mill’s Tavern in Providence, before moving to New York for a few years to work in restaurant management, as a bartender and sometimes oyster shucker. Keller took a break from the culinary scene during the pandemic, and after working for five years as a personal trainer, he missed creating.

Abby Lofberg and Mar Keller, co-owners of Babes Pie Co.

“I feel like I’m happiest and most fulfilled when I’m making things,” he says. He and Abby met in New York through Keller’s virtual personal training sessions, then became friends, and then became more.

The couple decided to move to Providence together. Lofberg previously had a corporate background. They both had day jobs when they teamed up to launch Babes Pie. Co. out of Hope & Main in Warren. While Keller is head baker, Lofberg officially became “taster-in-chief” and also a part-time sous chef, helping to prep items for baking. She also handles a lot of the behind-the-scenes work like scheduling events, fulfilling orders, and responding and setting up wholesale inquiries.

After a successful kick-off for the holiday season in 2024, and nearly a year under their belts, they decided to go full-time with the business this past summer. They opened their own commercial kitchen space in Pawtucket. Orders can be placed in advance for pickup at the new space during scheduled hours on Fridays between 2-6 p.m. (place order by Wednesday at 5 p.m.) or at pop-up events. They are also available for home delivery through food delivery apps.

This fall, Babes Pie Co.’s popup location is at Stock Culinary Goods on Hope Street in Providence, every Sunday from 5-9 p.m.,  through November 16. They plan to take a pause in January to launch more wholesale accounts at coffee shops and grocery stores, and then shoot for working with more delivery services for winter. They also hope to expand their menu to serve baked goods like buns and pastries in the future, and eventually open their own retail space.

The pie varieties change monthly, and November’s menu will include apple brown butter and the cult favorite, a pumpkin pie called The Greatest Pumpkin, made with their secret ingredient, parsnip, and warm baking spices.

Banoffee Pie from Babes Pie Co.

“That’s the pie that launched Babes basically,” says Keller. “It holds a special place in my heart. It really was the first one that our family was just like, ‘you need to sell these.’”

The couple is happy to have launched their own business and say they manifested their goal for having jobs where they can be creative every day.

“It’s scary, because all of your own success and your own failure just comes down to you,” Lofberg says. “But then, the sense of gratification is also so much higher.”

On Sat. Oct. 25, from 6-9 p.m., Babes Pie Co. is celebrating its one-year anniversary at Riff Raff in Providence with free pie samples, a glass of free bubbly with Thanksgiving pie pre-orders, a raffle and prizes. The commercial kitchen space is open for pickups only on Fridays from 2-6 p.m. at 258 Kenyon Avenue in Pawtucket. babespieco.com