Lulu’s Pie Shoppe was started almost five years ago out of Franke’s home, and now she sells her pies out of the 1967 Mobile Scout trailer she named Lucille. Early in the pandemic, however, Franke stopped taking Lucille out to sell pies. Instead, she was delivering door to door throughout Georgetown and the Austin area. Franke said it was a way for her to give back to the community.
“It was an awesome thing to do during the pandemic,” Franke said. “Bringing pie to people made them happy. It was like healing.”
Franke has been making baked goods for a long time. Before Lulu’s Pie Shoppe, she called herself Lulu’s Baked Goods and sold a variety of pastries. Franke discovered her love for pie and dough superseded all other pastries, though, so she decided to go full time into the pie business.
According to Franke, it took her three years before she was ready with her dough recipe and still tweaks her recipe in search of perfection.
“As a baker, you must be precise,” Franke said.
At Lulu’s Pie Shoppe, customers can order all types of cream pies such as banana cream, Key lime and chocolate cream. Franke also sells apple; peach; cherry; pumpkin; and her specialty, bourbon pecan pie, which is made with Schwegmann’s local Georgetown pecans and Texas bourbon.
“I like making people happy through food; it brings me joy,” Franke said about why she chose to bake.
Originally from Chicago, Franke and her family moved to Texas in 2000 and settled in Georgetown in 2017.
Franke’s son, Noah, went to culinary school in Chicago and joined Lulu’s about a year ago, bringing a savory line to the pie shop. Alongside the fruit pies and cream pies, Lulu’s also sells deep-dish pizza and lasagna.
“Noah is a very well-trained chef, and his pastas are to die for,” Franke said of her son.
Lulu’s will be taking orders for the holidays through Nov. 14 on its website. Patrons can also visit Franke and Lucille at events around the Austin area through the holiday season.
https://www.luluspieshoppe.com/
