Entrepreneur brings homemade pies to Katy

Proud Pie specializes in gourmet coffee and handmade artisan pies, Chapman said. The store, located on South Mason Road, opened in November 2015 and features plethora of original pie recipes. Every pie recipe the company produces was created or developed by Chapman himself then taught to the other bakers on staff.

“There’s nothing ‘box mix’ about our recipes,” he said. “We start from scratch.”

The store features 14 pie flavors, including Kohala coconut cream and Miss Daisy’s rich chocolate fudge. Chapman uses his own interpretation of the classic recipe, instead substituting in Ghirardelli dark chocolate and cococa powder.

A large part of the store’s rise in popularity has been its dedication to handmade pies with no additives or preservatives, Chapman said.

Each morning, the baking staff begins preparing pies at 7 a.m. and bakes them in small batches until around 3 p.m. The kitchen churns out anywhere from 65 to 200 pies a day, enough to stock both the storefront property and the Proud Pie mobile truck.

Proud Pie uses a small batch kitchen method because the lack of additives or preservatives reduces the shelf life of each pie to around 48 hours, Chapman said.

Every recipe exclusively calls for real butter, not shortening, lard or margarine, and all cream pies feature hand-whipped heavy cream.

Because each pie crust is shaped and crimped by hand, no two pies ever look the same, Chapman said.

“Each pie is different—like a special snowflake,” he said.

Connecting with families is an important part of starting a business, he said. Chapman said he picked Katy as the location for his first store because of the great family environment in the city.

The store offers a variety of community engagement activities, including a weekly bingo night and a twice monthly pie giveaway.

“Our roots are deep in Katy,” Chapman said. “There are a lot of great cities in Texas but Katy is home.”