Chicago Connected | The Best Pie Shops
The sweetest time of the year is upon us, and the smell of fresh-baked goods is quickly filling the homes and eateries of our city. Get in on the autumn pie craze with this list of Chicago’s top pie shops and bakeries that offer the perfect slice of your favorite flavor— pecan, pumpkin, apple, and more— whether you’re looking for the fall dining experience or are ordering dessert to go.
Hoosier Mama Pie Company
1618 W Chicago Avenue, Chicago
Renowned pastry chef Paula Haney’s pies first became famous at farmers’ markets and coffee shops. Now she sells seasonal creations including apple and pumpkin in the fall, as well as signatures like her incomparable banana-cream. While visiting her retro pie shop, be sure to sample the scones as well and don’t forget to follow up with a Metropolis coffee.
Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits
2051 N California Ave, Chicago
Whether you visit the Logan Square or Ravenswood outpost, Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits usually offers six flavors on the menu that rotate regularly to give customers a taste of seasonal produce and funky flavor combinations concocted for special holidays. Their biscuit menu is delightfully complex and offers a wide variety of biscuit-based offerings for any occasion and any time of year. Enjoy the charming ambiance, plenty of dining space, and grab an iced coffee on tap to go with dessert.
Justice of the Pies
Various Pop-Up Locations, Chicago
Maya-Camille Broussard launched Justice of the Pies as a way to honor her late father, a criminal defense attorney and a self-proclaimed pie aficionado. While the pie operation’s delicious offerings can be found at the Daley Plaza Farmer’s Market until the end of September, you’ll have a chance to grab a slice at one of their many pop-up partners throughout the city. The sublime lavender-lemon pie tastes even sweeter when you find out that Justice partners with nonprofits to positively impact the lives around them.
First Slice Pie Cafe
5357 N Ashland Ave, Chicago
Maybe it's the giant pie sculpture in the window here that draws customers in. Or maybe it's the fact that eating at this charitable café is an easy way to support an organization that provides hunger relief. But really, it's probably the food, whether a flaky-crusted seasonal pie or the satisfying cucumber-chicken salad.
Eméché Cakery & Cafe
3453 South Prairie Ave, Chicago
Eméché isn’t just a name for the Bronzeville bakery, but it’s the story of the bakery’s roots. Started by Chicago native Janell Richmond, Eméché (which translates to "tipsy" in French) began with Richmond making alcohol-infused cupcakes in her New York apartment. After moving back to Chicago, she opened up her brick-and-mortar shop in 2019 and while she still sells alcohol-infused treats, the bakery has a whole range of specialties, including pies and doughnuts.
Spinning J Bakery & Soda Fountain
1000 N California Ave, Chicago
The charming Humboldt Park pie and soda spot has spinning stools that lend a retro feel, but the flavors here aren’t stuck in time—the creative slices rotate regularly, but think blueberry-rose or key lime-hibiscus flavors. The house soda program is just as successful, with sodas like a lively pineapple-lemongrass or lavender grape. Savory options, including ham and cheese scones and breakfast sandwiches, round out the menu.
Defloured: A Gluten Free Bakery
1477 W Balmoral Ave
Typically anyone who abides by a gluten-free diet would have to count pie out when it comes to their dessert table, but that’s not the case with Andersonville's Defloured, an entirely gluten-free bakery. Defloured’s pies, which are made with a variety of alternative flours, including brown rice flour and tapioca flour, are special-order only, and require a seven-day advance. In addition to the bakery’s pie options, it also offers an array of baked goods, including nearly 20 different types of cookies.
Blue Sky Bakery & Café
3720 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago
By employing homeless and otherwise at-risk youth and training them to enter the hospitality work force, this nonprofit café doubles as a social venture. With delicious pie offerings, as well as a plethora of cookie, scone, and muffin varieties, this cute café feels good to support in every way.
Sugargoat
820 W Randolph St, Chicago
Chef Stephanie Izard's culinary empire gets a little sweeter with the opening of Sugargoat, a bakery housed inside Little Goat Diner that features the creations of Izard and pastry chef Faith Taheny. Sugargoat serves a rotating menu of cakes, pies, cookies and cupcake, along with muffins, bagels, scones and croissants in the morning (plus Dark Matter coffee). Highlights of the menu include a chocolate french fry pie, which uses a french fry crumble crust and chocolate malt filling.
This guide is part of our Chicago Connected: Fall Edition series. Stay tuned for more ways to enjoy Chicago this autumn!