Neal Mallard and his son Zachary at the Wimberley Pie
Company offer the world something that everybody seems to enjoy — homemade
pies like grandma used to make.
In an old stone building that was first used as a gas station west of the
Wimberley town square on TX12, the pie company currently offers 30 pies and
cheesecakes on their menu. Don’t be surprised if your favorite pie occasionally
sells out. “We bake in small batches,” Mallard says, “everything is made from
scratch.”
Mallard says it is not surprising that pecan pies are the biggest sellers
since the majority of their wholesale customers are the area’s barbecue
restaurants. Besides pecan pies, the chocolate fudge and key lime pies are very
popular with the 32 restaurants that carry their pies. Their strawberry
cheesecake is an original invention of the pie company, devised for a local
restaurant. “It is the only cheesecake that actually has strawberries in the
filling that I know of,” Mallard says.
Despite being in a small town, the retail trade is a significant part of
his business, Mallard says. “It’s kind of hard to just stumble upon Wimberley,”
he says. “It’s not really on the road to anywhere else.” He has had customers
who have driven from Houston to buy a pie. Sunday and Monday afternoons are
some of the busiest times at the tiny bakery as folks stop by on their way back
home after spending the weekend in Wimberley.
Mallard and his wife bought the pie business in 1989. At the time it was more
of a hobby in the back of a pizzeria. The Mallards took over the 10 pie recipes
when the pizzeria closed. “We added and changed things, but kept the basic
character of the pies,” he says.
Whenever possible Mallard uses Texas ingredients in his pies. The pecans are
Texas-grown. The apples for the dutch apple and sour cream apple pies come from
Love Creek Orchard in Medina. He says the Hill Country-grown apples are the
best he has found for baking.
The Wimberley Pie Company products are solid as a rock and twice as heavy. A
slice of their pie or cheesecake can be a meal in itself — they’re not just
for dessert anymore. Prices range from $20 for a fancy cheesecake to $9 for a
buttermilk pie. “The buttermilk pie is very good, it’s the name that turns a
lot of people off,” he says.
One of five children, Mallard says he has taken over the responsibility for
bringing the desserts when his family gets together for holidays. “After seven
years in the pie business I think I have convinced my mother that I know what
I’m doing,” he says. The Wimberley Pie Company is open 8am-5pm Mon.-Fri.,
10am-5pm Sat., and noon-4pm Sun. For special orders, call 512/847-9462.
Coming up this weekend…
Watermelon Thump in Luling includes fun, food, and the world-championship
seed-spitting contest, June 27-29.
210/875-3214.
Antique Machinery Exhibition at the Albert Meier Farm across from LBJ State
Park in Stonewall shows the equipment in motion. June 29-30. 210/659-3742.
Bob Marley Festival presents the Wailers with local bands in concert at San
Antonio’s Sunken Gardens Amphitheater, noon-10pm, June 30. 210/733-5354.
Coming up…
“Africa” Exhibit at the Witte Museum in San Antonio tells the story of the
continent and its people, through Sep.2. 210/820-2126.
Abendkonzerte translates to summer evening concerts of traditional German
music every Tue. in July, 7:30-9pm performed by the Boerne Village Band at the
Boerne Main Plaza. 210/249-8000.
This article appears in June 28 • 1996 and June 28 • 1996 (Cover).
