Meet Jane Grover: Pie Connoisseur & Head Baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jane Grover and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jane, what makes you most proud of the business you’ve built?
When I first thought about starting my business I was so skeptical of how it would all play out. I mean, sure my family said I was good at what I did, but it’s family and sometimes family builds you up a little more than necessary! But I felt I had a unique product to the markets. Sure there are always people selling sweets, but I took something that is elusive to so many people…awesome, homemade pie. I can’t tell you how many people confess to me how hard it is to make a good pie. How they come out too sweet or the crust is too dry and cracks when they roll it or that they burned the top crust while the bottom crust was still under cooked. Don’t get me wrong, most of that happened to me in my testing period but luckily I figured it all out before I started the business. Because who wants to spend money on something that’s just as bad as you would make it?! It makes me very proud when I see customers come week after week to purchase my items saying they made a special trip to the market just for me or that they finished their last pie in a matter of minutes and have been counting down the days to get another one at the market. I’m also humbled that those people have made it a point to mention me to friends and family. So many times I hear “I heard about your booth from a passerby the second I walked in the market” or “my neighbor told me I just HAD to come get a pie from you”. I realize that what I sell isn’t a necessity and it costs more than what you would pay at a local grocery store. So it’s important to me to provide a product that people can feel good about spending their hard earned money on. A product that keeps people coming back and telling their friends about. A product that they feel is good enough to have at their family gatherings or even weddings. All these “proud” moments have kept me in business going into my 5th year!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
From product to branding I feel like my attention to detail sets me apart. I work hard to provide not only consistent product but consistency in my brand. If something doesn’t come out from the oven just right, I start again. I make sure that each quiche is filled to the top and the top crust to each pie is crimped just so. With my branding, I had a vision from the start. I created a logo and use the same font for all my printed communications. I designed the layout of my product labels and worked hard on the look for my booth to tie back into the “feel” of what I produce. My online presence is also tied back into me and my product. Some people don’t care and just “want my pie” which is totally fine! But quite often I’ve had people comment on how everything looks so polished and put together.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Stone Mountain for a hike one day, then another day for the laser show and a picnic Pontooning on Lake Lanier Hitting up Decatur for small business shopping and eating. Lakewood Amphitheater for a summer concert Piedmont Park for a stroll then catch a show at the Fox Theater Outlet shopping

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wasn’t necessarily into the baking part when I was really young, just the eating part! So my love for baking and cooking evolved over time. My maternal grandfather was a pastry chef in his spare time and my mom baked and cooked a lot so it must be in the genes. My husband has always been a big support to me. From trying weird recipes that look good in the pictures but taste awful to sampling endless varieties of chocolate to find the exact one that I can feel good about using in my product. He’s suffered through the good and the bad!