Pie in the Sky Pie Co. is more to Marlene Stubler than just her business of 11 years. It represents her father’s legacy.

Pie in the Sky may not have existed were it not for Stubler’s father, who owned three Pit Stop Food Marts in Conroe and employed Stubler in the late `90s after she tabled her dreams of becoming a famous singer. Stubler said she began baking by mixing up banana nut bread and cherry pie for the first time while working at the stores.

“I baked at home, but I used to just throw stuff together,” she said. “Most of the time it wasn’t even edible. It was definitely under the shelter of my parents letting me goof around and do things like that while still collecting a paycheck that helped me.”

In October 2004 she opened Pie in the Sky in Conroe on a half-acre lot gifted by her father, where it still operates today. Aside from the shop’s obvious specialty—traditional and seasonal pies—it offers catering services as well as a breakfast and lunch menu.

While customer favorites include the Southern Pecan and Bumbleberry pies, Stubler said her cherry pie and banana nut bread recipes—perfected after much trial and error—remain the same in the store today.

Pie in the Sky’s breakfast and lunch menu features dishes from breakfast sandwiches and omelets to burgers and savory pies. Customers can also purchase casseroles and dishes for catered gatherings.

Head baker Jan Maggart, who has worked with Stubler for eight years, said she and her team pride themselves on baking the best products—focusing on consistency and the basics. She said the key to a good pie is not over baking and getting the timing just right.

Depending on the time of the year, Pie in the Sky houses 25-30 employees and can bake literally thousands of pies in a week. Stubler said the shop can produce nearly 10,000 pies in a week in October to prepare for wholesale orders.

“We take a lot of pride in what we’re doing ,and we make sure everything is the best,” Maggart said. “We don’t turn out bad pies. [Stubler] is a great boss. She cares about everybody and is just an awesome person. We are all like a part of her own family.”