Family Pie Shop

"Fried pie is especially popular in Arkansas. There are none better than Mary's. No fork required: you can break it in two and eat it out of hand."
Michael Stern






"Mary Thomas, Pie Queen of Arkansas. Directly behind her are some hot fried pies. On the shelf below are full-size pies as well as pies-for-two ... or for one."
Michael Stern



"Some sweet potato pies cool on the counter."
Cliff Strutz



"Light-as-air meringue, with incredibly dense fudgy filling; this is world-class pie!"
Cliff Strutz



"This "small" sweet potato pie was actually two slices worth, or a 1/4-pie. "
Cliff Strutz



"Here's an individual lemon meringue pie. It's enough for two modest appetites or one Roadfood appetite."
Michael Stern



"Roadfood history: this is a picture of Mary Thomas and her daughter and a table of pies we took in 1982, just five years after the Family Pie Shop opened."
Michael Stern



"Here, inscribed on a piece of butcher paper, was the list of pies Mary Thomas was making when we stopped in early in 2004."
Michael Stern



"Formally named the Family Pie Shop, this humble roadside bakery is known to fans as Mary's."
Michael Stern



"The filling of Mary Thomas's egg custard pie is shockingly delicate, both in weight and taste."
Michael Stern



"Mary Thomas at work forming the crust of a pie"
Michael Stern



"This image of the Family Pie Shop, captured in 2010, might just as well have been taken in 1980. Nothing has changed!"
Michael Stern