This Valentine's Day, a new business hopes to warm hearts and fill stomachs of dessert lovers as it opens its doors to the public.
The Pie Maker, Mancos couple Shani Winer and Tim Stubbs' labor of love, will host a community meet-and-greet on Saturday featuring coffee, samples and a limited selection of their signature baked goods for sale at their new Harrison Street location in Cortez.
Winer, an East Coast native and 10-year Mancos resident, has been baking as the Pie Maker in Montezuma County for the past two years, working out of leased kitchen space from the Farm Bistro on Main Street. Stubbs, also an East Coast native, moved to Mancos 10 years ago, and met Winer while he was working as a ranger at Mesa Verde National Park.
"We've been here a decade now and really fell in love with this place," said Winer.
The business model has primarily been wholesaling for local restaurants, including the Farm Bistro, where she leased kitchen space.
Last year, she and Stubbs branched out to farmers markets in Cortez and Durango and had a bit of an epiphany: They wanted more customer interaction.
"I want to interact with the people I'm selling too, and that was kind of the impetus for this counter," said Winer. "As a wholesaler, I'm not the one that gets to talk to customers, so it'll be great to receive feedback and get to know people buying."
The farmers market also let Stubbs and Winer get a good idea of what customers wanted, and what would work in a cafe-style concept.
Aside from Winer's signature pies, items like breakfast sandwiches, homemade artisan bagels and pastries proved to be popular and will be featured at the Pie Maker bakery.
Other additions to the expanded Pie Maker menu include an array of organic, fresh-baked scones, muffins, cinnamon rolls, bagels, hand pies, as well as a variety of cookies, brownies and deserts like flourless chocolate torte and white-chocolate cheesecake.
The bakery has also partnered with Fahrenheit Coffee Roasters of Mancos to provide coffee beans, which will be roasted and brewed fresh daily.
"Our mission is keeping everything fresh, as locally sourced as possible," said Stubbs.
On Saturday, the Pie Maker will feature several Valentine's Day treats for purchase including white-chocolate cheesecake slices, strawberry cream puffs, coconut macaroons and chocolate flourless torte.
The Pie Maker is the latest locally based food concept to set up shop off the Main Street strip in Cortez, a movement Winer and Stubbs are proud to join.
"We've gotten to know people, and have watched as this downtown area grows and changes, it's really exciting to be apart of," she said.
The Pie Maker is at 17 N. Harrison St. in Cortez. The Valentine's Day meet-and-greet begins at 9 a.m.
