The Pie Bar is a small batch bakery that provides modern baked goods using traditional techniques and unique flavours, tailored each season incorporating fresh, local produce. Products among the fan favourites include: Sourdough, Fruit and Custard Pies, Croissants, Cruffins and extra large cookies!
My name is Stacy Blair and I am a Structural Engineer by trade. I graduated from Dalhousie University in 2010 and worked as a heritage conservation engineer on the large multi-year rehabilitation projects on Parliament Hill. When I was home with my daughter on maternity leave in 2013 I took up baking, mainly because my husband was begging for fresh baked goods every day. I reluctantly turned on the oven and started baking, but to my surprise, I completely fell in love with every stage of the process. I eventually took to Instagram and my blog (27thandolive.com) to document my trials as I learned new recipes, techniques and tricks and by January 2014…
I had grown my following to over 100,000 followers!
By 2015 I decided that I had mastered pies enough to sell them at a market, so I spent a month prepping, coming up with a business name and logo and testing recipes. That first Christmas market cemented my passion as I finally felt I was bringing joy to the lives of others. Nothing feels better than that! Between 2015 and 2018 I continued doing markets just around the holidays, and only selling pies. Demand was increasing and I was quickly losing interest in sitting at a desk for the rest of my life. In the summer of 2019 I took a long term leave from my position to pursue my baking passion,. I sold at a weekly farmers market for 5 months. I incorporated sourdoughs, focaccia, cookies, tarts, and croissants along with my pies, and the response was overwhelmingly positive!
Following the summer of 2019, we built a commercial kitchen and small storefront just outside of the Village of Westport with the goal of having retail hours 4 days a week. Unfortunately, when COVID-19 hit, our plans changed and we switched to having a once a week pre-order pickup from our shop. The response has been incredible, touching and humbling! As we continue to grow, we still have our sights set on those retail hours to have our products more readily available! The Village of Westport does not have another bakery like The Pie Bar! Our unique products are the only ones offered in the area and have been rapidly growing in popularity. On any given Saturday our little bakery attracts customers from Kingston, Ottawa and Toronto who then enjoy the day/weekend exploring what our beautiful Village has to offer. Nothing makes me more proud than helping people discover our little piece of paradise on the shores of the Rideau Canal!
