Moorestown's Pie Lady Rolls Out Perfection

Grab a fork and sit down for a slice of apple crumb, cherry almond or blueberry coconut. But don’t let the name fool you. on Moorestown’s Main Street has coffee brewing, butterscotch scones on plates, blueberry bran muffins on pedestals, and spinach quiche cooling.

Once inside the doors of the ochre and silver-gray Victorian building that shares a porch with a dental office, it’s a marvel how Metuchen-bred Christine McHale rolls out more than 100 pies daily during peak seasons.

The half-pint cafe fits two tables for customers, a display case with daily pastry specials and cold drinks. Snapshots from a local artist—who McHale says had an unofficial show in the cafe—adorn the apricot-colored walls.

But the real magic takes place in the kitchen through a doorway where McHale and her three chefs flour, roll, and then bake their wares in one commercial oven. 

McHale began a career as a high school guidance counselor after studying psychology at LaSalle University and receiving a master's degree in education and counseling at Villanova University.

“As soon as I started working in my first school,” says McHale, who now lives in Moorestown, “I found out I was pregnant with my first child.” 

The next few years, McHale and her husband, Thomas, added three more kids—and life took on the blur of a stay-at-home mom. 

“I enjoyed being home,” McHale says. “But I wanted to do something creative.”

About 15 years ago, she bought candy molds and learned the technique of making chocolates. She started selling her specialties at farmers markets and wanted to sustain the business by adding pies to the stalls. But because of state health laws, which call for certain kitchen regulations when making pies, McHale had to abandon the idea. 

The chocolate venture fizzled. She resolved to stay in business, but with only pies in the mix.

McHale grew up in a lively family of seven children, where her mom was always working with pastry. With that knowledge, McHale started perfecting pies: finding the right amount of butter, the right fruit, and the right oven temperature.  

There were a few challenges. For a mom, working from home can be more of a burden than a convenience.  

“My two youngest kids would roll dough with me,” McHale says. “And sometimes I would wait until everyone was in bed and bake all night.”

Word spread. Friends started calling on McHale to make pies for them. She started developing a customer base at home. 

As her work on pies shifted from hobby to moneymaker, more challenges arose. Making a pie for dinner is one thing—making more than 12 at a time is another.  

Three years ago when the youngest of her kids went off to school, McHale set up her oven in a former needlepoint store and hurled herself into a full-time enterprise—first with pies, then slowly adding other pastries.

“I work really long hours,” McHale says of the only downside to her cafe. At 43, she looks at least 10 years younger, with a mane of brown hair and a slender frame. 

She expands on the labor involved in running a bakery that has local appeal and the necessary produce it takes to nurture such an operation. 

“When I'm not open, I am shopping or cooking. I buy as much as I can in bulk. And that means usually 150 pounds of flour at a time,” says McHale, who is also cautious about further expansion and leaving her prime spot on Main Street. “I have to shop every third day, making sure that all of my fruits, vegetables and eggs are fresh. We buy from the local farms as much as we can.”  

Moorestown resident Bonnie MacMillan says McHale’s scones are the best in the neighborhood. 

“I stop in here sometimes during the week,” MacMillan says as she waits for a friend to join her on the large wooden porch. “On weekends, we come by for the apple cider donuts.” 

More tables and chairs adorn the front yard patio.

Pies and quiches are $18 to $20, with cream pies at $25. All slices are $4.25. 

Beginning this month and throughout the holiday season is McHale’s busiest season, with pre-ordering a must. Last year, she had to stop taking orders two weeks before Thanksgiving. She’s cautious of overextending herself. 

Says McHale, “I have huge time constraints, and I’m always up to my elbows in flour. But I am so passionate about what I do.”