NORTHAMPTON — Florence Pie Bar, which for eight years has featured a menu of sweet and savory pies using locally grown produce, is getting new owners who intend to preserve the existing business, while enhancing offerings and complementing the restaurant they run in downtown Northampton.
Maura Glennon, a pianist and lifelong home baker who opened the Pie Bar at 17 Main St. in fall 2015, is selling the establishment to Danny McColgan and Isaac Weiner, the owners of Familiars Coffee & Tea at 6 Strong Ave. since 2019.
“I was very excited when this opportunity presented itself because Danny and Isaac have a clear understanding of the Florence Pie Bar brand within our community and beyond,” Glennon said in a statement issued this week, describing the new owners as “the perfect buyer.” “I was interested in finding the best people to guide Florence Pie Bar’s continued growth, and it feels like a perfect fit for this special place that we built.
“Additionally, I feel very good about their interest in keeping our current staff and not making any significant changes right now,” Glennon said.
At Florence Pie Bar, operating from a former general store, the bakery items and recipes will stay the same, with the new owners expected to work closely with head baker Katy Beyer, Glennon and other current staff. Aspects that could change are extended hours of operation and having indoor dining and online ordering.
“While we have many exciting plans ahead, we plan to take things very slowly to see what works best in Florence,” Weiner said. “We are honored to be able to continue the legacy of the Pie Bar, and place immense value in the quality of the product, brand and reputation of the bakery. ”
The menu rotates with fruit pies, cream pies and nut pies, along with quiche, meat or vegetarian hand pies and savory galettes.
The current menu’s sweet pies include blueberry buttermilk, peach and salted chocolate, while those that are savory pies include beef tamale handpie, ratatouille handpie and a galette of buffalo chickpea and ranch. There are also frozen items, including macaroni and cheese, meat and vegetable handpies, ham and cheese rolls and scones.
In addition to its locally sourced ingredients from a number of area farms, Florence Pie Bar has been celebrated for its all-butter crusts and distinctive recipes. Yankee Magazine’ named it to a list of Best 5 New England Pie Shops last year.
While each business will retain their names and identities, there will be more crossover between the restaurants.
“We are eager and excited to bring our espresso, coffee, and beverage program up to Florence and hope to provide a wider variety of offerings to Pie Bar customers,” McColgan said. “We are also very excited at the possibility of serving Pie Bar bakery items at Familiars and hope to do that as soon as possible. We feel that both businesses will greatly benefit from one another.”
Glennon established Florence Pie Bar after ending her academic career as a professor of music at Keene State College for 17 years, bringing her closer to her home and community where she has lived since 2001 with husband Justin Kimball, a photographer, and their children, Zeke and Ellie.
McColgan and Weiner created Familiars in the Worcester Lunch Car that was brought to the city in 1932.
“We are so happy to expand up into Florence and can’t wait to become a part of the community there,” Weiner said. “Maura has created a phenomenal business, and we are humbled that she has entrusted us with it.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
