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 ENC Education Director Lori Whalen recommends “Sprung a Leek” pie. |
 ENC staff & visitors enjoying Pie-Not at a recent meeting. |
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Orange County has long been home to a host of internationally inspired culinary options, but only recently has it offered its community authentic, gourmet Australian bakery items, handmade fresh daily using only the highest quality ingredients, including locally sourced meats and produce – thanks to the opening of Pie-Not in Costa Mesa.
Driving this new concept are two young, Orange County-based entrepreneurs and business partners, Jai Snowdon, originally from the Gold Coast of Australia, and Ryan Lopiccolo, of Newport Beach, California, who launched the Aussie-style bakery in May 2013. Located in the popular 17th Street Promenade in Costa Mesa, Pie-Not is offering meat, veggie, and gluten-free pies, desserts, espresso and handcrafted coffee drinks – all inspired from bakeries across Australia.
“We noticed that Orange County lacked innovative, fast-casual, restaurant concepts,” says Jai Snowdon,CEO and managing director of Pie-Not, who spent his childhood eating meat pies in his native Australia. “Bringing Pie-Not, an Aussie-style bakery, to Orange County has always been a dream of mine – and seeing the Orange County community embrace the concept is exciting.”
Snowdon and Lopiccolo spent two years perfecting the Pie-Not concept before they opened their doors, including months of research, planning, testing methods, and tastings. The Pie-Not quest also led the partners to the perfect chef – the talented Samantha Boxer – who is originally from Melbourne, Australia. Chef Samantha’s expertise and Australian heritage played an integral role in the development and creation of the 26- item menu.
The owners also sought out the ideal location – at the center of Eastside Costa Mesa’s burgeoning culinary corridor on 17th Street – and designed the build-out of the bakery to be a contemporary, welcoming, rustic look that conveys the laid-back vibe of Australia. During the soft opening, the pies were selling out daily and the bakery had to up their production to keep up with the high demand.
“We are really trying to bring a taste of Australia – both culinary and cultural – to Orange County,” says Ryan Lopiccolo, CFO/managing director, who spent years living abroad in Sydney and fell in love with the Aussie culture and meat pies. “As you’d find in an Australian pie shop, the Pie-Not staff is friendly, welcoming, and wants to create a new experience for customers every time they visit.”
Pie-Not specializes in creating the classic Aussie “meat pie” which is made of premium meat filling in a pastry shell topped with a puff pastry lid. The foodie favorite offers six standard, six premium varieties, as well as sausage rolls, quiche-style pies, and more. In addition to the pies, Pie-Not has been selling out of their classic Australian desserts, like the Lamington made with sponge cake and chocolate icing rolled in coconut.
The pies and desserts are paired perfectly with Pie-Not’s organic Australian coffee from Bun Coffee from Byron Bay, Australia. In addition, Pie-Not is the only place in the US that sells Bun Coffee. Guests can be sure that everything seen in Pie-Not’s glass cases can be found in a bakery in Australia. – Pie-Not website
We can’t wait to enjoy one of Pie-Not’s delicious pies at our Taste of OC at this year’s Spring Faire on May 4.