15 Feb 2013
Staff Writer
Anna Frosch
Intern
Keely Briggs is the owner and sole pie maker of Lucky Stars Pies, Denton’s new pie shop. She works out of her own kitchen and caters to the numerous online orders she receives every week.
Lucky Stars is an online-based company. People can place their orders and pick them up at Briggs’ house or have them delivered. The most popular pies include the Keely lime pie and the chocolate peanut butter.
She also offers some nontraditional pies such as a suppertime Tomato Basil Savory pie. Prices of pies range anywhere from six to twenty dollars.
“Not only is the chocolate pie amazing, but as someone who is high maintenance about what is put into their body, I feel guilt free because of how these pies are put together and the ingredients used,” repeat customer Ashley Gilchriest said.
Lucky Stars Pies have only vegetarian ingredients and don’t use gelatin or sugar in the crusts. Briggs started baking to find an alternative dessert that adhered to her vegetarian lifestyle.
“As a child I baked with my grandmother and I remembered my grandmother’s stories about my great-grandmother and how she was known for being the pie lady in her town,” Briggs said. “My grandmother passed down my great-grandmother’s secret crust recipe to me. I have perfected that crust recipe and have combined it with my own creative pie flavors.”
Briggs earned a degree in sociology from UNT and a master’s at TWU. Her past jobs include working at a flower shop and Rose’s costume shop.
“I’ve always loved having a creative outlet in my life,” Briggs said.
Her pie business has grown quicker than expected as she balances her business with mothering her three sons. She does feel it’s important for her sons to watch their mom doing something she loves.
Briggs eventually wants to open up her own pie shop off the square, with affordable pies and a student day once a month. The shop would serve different types of pies at different times of the day and be a place for people and students to meet up and have a taste of home-cooked goodness.
“It’s been a lot of fun to have a front row seat to watch Keely develop her idea into a business. And to see how word of mouth – the lifeblood of a local business – is accelerated by the use of blogging and social media,” said Chris Briggs, Keely’s husband.
She came up with up with the name Lucky Stars Pies from the Pennsylvanian Dutch star symbolizing “sign of goodwill to all”.
“I really just want to make people happy,” Briggs said.
