"I feel like as a business owner, every time I take a step forward, I take a step back, and it's for reasons that are out of my control," says The Pie Hole owner Jenell Parsons.
In early October, the Vancouver business owner opened a new location of her bakery-cafe in Langley amidst the excitement of the Thanksgiving long weekend.
The day before the doors opened on what's currently her third Pie Hole location, Parsons received a crushing blow: Her landlord was terminating her lease for her bakeshop and cafe at 1864 W 4th Ave in Kitsilano.
"The timing was wild," Parsons recalls.
The landlord's decision to terminate means she was given six months to vacate the business space she lovingly created and opened in 2019. Parsons says she and her team are heartbroken.
'This isn't because The Pie Hole is failing'
The business owner, who took her Pie Hole venture from a farmers' market operation to its first brick-and-mortar shop on Vancouver's Fraser Street in 2017, has enjoyed tremendous success with the brand, with the bakery even being featured on an episode of TV's beloved Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
"We opened three locations in under three years," says Parsons. "The only thing that slowed me was the pandemic."
That first pandemic year, 2020, was pivotal for Parsons and The Pie Hole. It was the year that the wrecking ball took down her first location on Fraser in preparation for the block's redevelopment, and it was the year her cookbook, named for The Pie Hole's sassy slogan, You Wanna Piece of Me?, came out.
Unable to embark on a traditional promotional tour for her book, Parsons recalls filming TV segments from The Pie Hole on West 4th, since she couldn't go in-studio.
She also spent a fair amount of time in the shop's massive kitchen space baking pies for local seniors' homes, matching pie purchases from customers one-for-one with a pie she'd donate through her "Bake a Difference" initiative. Parsons says her pies brought comfort to 2,000 Vancouver seniors in isolation during that incredibly difficult time.
The plywood pieces that protected her Kitsilano shop's windows were turned into vibrant murals bearing the donation program's slogan, "Let's Bake a Difference." Unable to part with them once they came down, the signs remain in the back section of the bakery, serving as a larger-than-life reminder of how much good can come out of tough situations.
Making the most out of a challenging time is something Parsons is not only familiar with but also considers part and parcel of her "everything happens for a reason" philosophy. Emphatic that she refuses to spend the next few months dwelling on the negative, she also wants to make it clear that her Kits location isn't closing because things aren't going well for them there.
"This isn't because The Pie Hole is failing, by any means," she points out.
The same artist who painted the "Bake a Difference" signs in 2020 painted The Pie Hole's west-facing exterior wall to feature massive eye-catching block letters reading "I only have pies for you."
Parsons says one day this fall she received tearful calls from her staff telling her people were painting over the wall. Without warning, the landlord had arranged to replace the mural.
For Parsons, it was a signal that things were likely poised to take a tough turn. "They took the mural down before I got the notice of termination," she says. The reasoning given was the impending shift in weather.
For Parsons, it was personal. "I feel like I'm literally being erased from the landscape."
The Pie Hole's role in the West 4th landscape happens to be one of the many things of which Parsons is incredibly proud. Actively engaged with the West 4th BIA, The Pie Hole has participated in numerous community events since its arrival in the neighbourhood, including a popular annual pie-eating contest held during the epic Khatsalano street fest.
'It's our turn to spread our pie love in a different neighbourhood'
Even Parsons' eight-year-old daughter has been a fixture in the neighbourhood in recent years; the budding entrepreneur has taken a page out of her mom's book and ran a lemonade stand outside The Pie Hole the last two summers. Parsons says she taught her daughter about making a business plan, calculating costs, and factoring in the overhead that comes with success, like setting aside money to pay her "employees," aka her friends who helped her out.
Being a role model for her daughter has been a motivation for Parsons from day one of The Pie Hole. "I wanted to raise her seeing a strong businesswoman," explains Parsons.
Now she has more powerful business and life lessons to demonstrate for her daughter, as Parsons faces wrapping up her tenure on West 4th. "I want her to see me take the high road, and be positive and optimistic."
"We had our run here, and now it's our turn to spread our pie love in a different neighbourhood," adds Parsons.
The plan is to carry on actively seeking new locations for The Pie Hole, something Parsons was doing regardless, in an ongoing pursuit to expand the brand.
"I'm ambitious," she says, smiling.
Ideally, she envisions being able to bring things to a close where she is in Kits and then have a brief couple of weeks to transition to a new space, wherever that may be - though she hopes it can be something nearby, though she's looking as far east as Commercial Drive.
'I don't want to lose my Vancouver presence'
Parsons has come to realize that when it comes to her locations, The Pie Hole is a destination, so she doesn't necessarily have to look for available space in a busy business district. Instead, her customer base has taught her they will come to her, so it would be beneficial if she could find somewhere with parking options and a lower rent than what's up for grabs in a premium high-traffic area.
"I don't want to lose my Vancouver presence," explains Parsons. The local, who lives with her husband and daughter about 10 minutes away from the West 4th shop, says she doesn't want to forget her business' roots in the city.
Replacing the original Fraser Street location hasn't panned out as of yet for The Pie Hole, which had been the business' number one store in terms of sales, besting the brand-new Kits store before the pandemic as well as the shop on the Burnaby-New West border.
"Losing our flagship was hard," admits Parsons. When the day came for the building to be demolished, Parsons describes an emotional experience sitting in her car, watching the walls come down, and the sadness of seeing her sign atop a pile of rubble.
"You give it your all and sometimes it's just not enough."
Because Fraser Street closed during the pandemic, Parsons and her Pie Hole team didn't have the chance to have a proper goodbye to the space or the customers.
"This will be a different one," Parsons says of the impending closure of the Kits shop.
She also anticipates having a hard time passing by the West 4th space once the new occupants are moved in. While Fraser Street shuttered to make way for a new building, Parsons recently learned that another bakery business will be taking over the lease once she's departed.
'We poured our heart and soul into this'
An older gentleman stops at our table to say hello and to have a quick chat. When he leaves, Parson explains he was a longtime customer from Fraser Street who followed the business to Kits and also supports them in Langley. He's such a committed regular she and the whole staff know his usual order. Telling him - and countless others like him - about the closure is something Parsons dreads. "That's what's going to kill me," she admits.
The staff is also a top priority for Parsons, among whom are many employees who have pledged to not only stay on until the end but also keep working for The Pie Hole if they are able to re-open somewhere accessible to them.
"I've worked really hard to create a very family-oriented business. We act like a small business, even though with over 40 employees we aren't 'small' anymore we still feel small," Parsons explains.
And sometimes the business really is a family affair. Not only has it been a mainstay in their daughter's young life, but it was also Parsons and her husband who did a lot of the labour in creating the Pie Hole's "modern diner" interior in Kits. "We poured our heart and soul into this," she adds, gesturing to indicate the bright, cheery cafe space.
There are still exciting times ahead for The Pie Hole in Kitsilano. While Parsons says she isn't opposed to closing before March if she's able to get into a new space sooner, right now she is looking ahead to making a few more months of memories during what often are special and busy times at the shop. The team is looking forward to the upcoming holiday season, then the Hot Chocolate Festival in the new year, followed by Valentine's Day, and "Pi Day," on March 14, which Parsons could see as the final day for the location.
And though the end of the road for The Pie Hole at 1864 W 4th Ave in the coming months will be coloured by sadness, ultimately Parsons is guided by her philosophy of keeping positive.
"I just want to focus on every single day and make it the best day, and go out on a nice high note."
UPDATE Feb. 22, 2024: Parsons shared with V.I.A. that the final day of business on W 4th for The Pie Hole will be March 14, Pi Day, as she hoped. However, Parsons has already secured a new location nearby on West Broadway and hopes the shop can be open there just a few weeks after the old shop closes.
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