The Williamsford Pie Company is going to reopen this month.
It closed over two years ago when a fire started by a freezer significantly damaged the building in May of 2022.
It will open its doors again Monday, August 26th.
Owner Kim Caragianakos says after the fire, they were initially told the building should be demolished. “The bakery was on fire. It wasn’t just a fire in the bakery— it destroyed everything…The entire contents were lost.”
She notes, “It was the heat and smoke that did most of the damage.” Caragianakos says lace curtains she had made for the top floor apartment were melted into something like string.
“We decided, well we’re not going to lie down that easy,” says Caragianakos.
They decided to get two separate structural engineers to look at it, and Caragianakos says both said it didn’t have to be torn down. “That’s when we started working towards restoring it and reopening the bakery.”
She notes, “The community is showing their excitement quite a bit and we’re really happy about that.”
“We’re still going to have everything we had before,” says Caragianakos, “Because if it’s not broken then it doesn’t need to be fixed, but we’ve seen an increase in the population here in the last five years especially and it’s a lot of younger families and a lot of those folks are looking for something that’s a little bit healthier. Everybody still wants to have a brownie or a piece of pie, but at the same time we are going to incorporate a juicery here.”
They’ll also have wraps, salads, power bowls, and gluten free and dairy free options.
The building is from 1904. It was Elliott’s Hardware from 1923 to 2007. Caragianakos says Bob and Carol Elliott still visit often.
“The history of this building means a lot to the community. Being Elliott’s Hardware from 1923, everybody and anybody that was born and raised in this area still kind of look at it as Elliot’s Hardware even though it’s now the Pie Company. The building meant a lot to the community and I’m the first one to say that I don’t even feel like I own the building, I just feel like I’m the keeper of the building.”
She says the outpouring from the community when it burned was moving. “I realized it was just another reminder that this building belongs to the community, and the Pie Company belongs to the community, and we’re just grateful to be part of it.”
You can find the Williamsford Pie Company at 316079 Hwy 6 in Williamsford.
