Kyle bakery and restaurant The Texas Pie Company is getting state-wide recognition after being named grand prize winner in the H‑E‑B Primo Picks Quest for Texas Best competition Aug. 11.

The Texas Pie Company, located in downtown Kyle, is known for their fresh-baked pies and casseroles, as well as for their daily lunch specials, sandwiches, salads and other desserts. Owner and Chef Julie Albertson uses old Southern recipes passed down from her grandmother, she said.

Albertson traveled to Houston to compete with 25 other finalists narrowed down from nearly 500 applications from all over Texas.

“It’s been a privilege and an honor and a very surreal experience, like a waking dream,” Albertson said.

The grand prize includes a check for $25,000 and a contract to have their product sold in stores statewide. First, The Texas Pie Company will focus on getting their Original Pie Dough Puck, a frozen, ten-ounce bundle of raw pie dough, on shelves in time for the holidays, Albertson said.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how happy and proud we are to have been adopted by HEB,” she said.

In the future, Albertson hopes to expand to meet demand and to create more jobs in the Central Texas area.