The Best Part Of Being A Small Pie Shop

There are a lot of things we love about making pie the smell that fills the bakery when something comes out of the oven, seeing a finished pie sitting there after all the work that went into making it, and trying a new idea, taking that first bite and realizing, “Okay… THIS works.” Those are all pretty great moments, but one of the best parts of running a small pie shop actually has very little to do with pie. It’s the people. When you’re part of the same community for a long time, customers stop feeling like strangers. You start recognizing faces, remembering what people order and noticing when someone hasn’t stopped by in a while. You meet someone’s kids when they’re little, and somehow, before you know it, those kids aren’t so little anymore. We have customers who walk through the door already knowing exactly what they want, and we have visitors who discovered us during a Kauaʻi vacation years ago and now make The Right Slice one of their stops every time they come back to the island. Every once in a while, someone walks through the door and says, “I was here five years ago, and I’ve been thinking about that pie ever since.” We REALLY like those people.  But seriously, those moments are a big part of what makes owning a small business so special. We’re not a giant company shipping thousands of identical products out of a warehouse somewhere. We’re right here in Kalaheo, baking pies, answering the phone, talking story with customers, seeing familiar faces walk through the door and meeting new ones who might become familiar faces someday.

Our famous Mango Lilikoi Pie!

We also get to hear where our pies are going. Maybe it’s a birthday celebration, Sunday dinner with the family, a beach picnic, an office party or a wedding. Sometimes someone is bringing a pie to a friend who could use a little cheering up, and sometimes there’s no occasion at all you just decided Tuesday deserved pie. We fully support that decision.  Over time, all those little interactions become part of the story of The Right Slice, and after all these years, we’ve been incredibly fortunate to have so many people become part of that story. So today, instead of telling you another story about us, we want to hear your story. How did you first discover The Right Slice? Did someone who lives on Kauaʻi tell you about us? Did you happen to drive past the shop in Kalaheo? Did you find us online while planning a vacation? Did a friend show up at your house carrying one of our pies? Maybe you discovered us at a market or event, or maybe you were one of the people who found us way back in the early days. If you’re one of our visitors, has stopping at The Right Slice become part of your Kauaʻi tradition? Tell us in the comments. We’d genuinely love to hear your story because, after all these years, we’ve realized something pretty special: some of our favorite stories about The Right Slice aren’t ours they’re yours.