Damn Fine Hand Pies consistently boasts some of the longest lines at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market. Partners Madeline Hissong and Gene Bailey serve up not only hand pies but also sourdough bread and doughnuts, among other baked delights. We recently caught up with them at their Maplewood commissary to talk about how Damn Fine started and where it’s headed.
How did Damn Fine Hand Pies come to be?
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Madeline: I started Damn Fine Hand Pies in the summer of 2021 at the [Tower Grove Farmers’ Market]. I was working full-time at Knead Bakehouse and started doing it every other weekend… I’ve been in the service industry, specifically kitchens, for two decades, and I was ready to cook my own food. I went to culinary school but focused on the savory aspect of cooking. I worked for Niche Food Group, I helped open Sardella, and I worked for a place in Chicago that had a Michelin star. I thought I was going to do that sort of [fine dining] stuff, but something just switched in my brain, and I wanted to bake.
So why hand pies?
Madeline: My great-grandmother was the ‘pie lady’ in her tiny town in Indiana. I just grew up around pies. She passed away when I was really young, but I still remember them. She had a gooseberry bush out back, and since my little hands could manage to get through the thistles, I’d be the one picking berries and she’d bake gooseberry pies. It’s just in my blood.
Gene, how did you get involved with Damn Fine Hand Pies?
Gene: I had consulted at Juniper, and Madeline was sous chef there, but we didn’t work together much. I was on a camping trip with Glenister Wells [Juniper’s executive chef at the time] and told him that I was exploring the idea of opening a little bakery/bodega and was looking for a chef-partner—my background was more operations/front-of-the-house. He recommended that I talk with Madeline… I had this amazing, enjoyable time talking with her, like everyone does. I walked away with a dill cream cheese hand pie. I couldn’t wait to get home, so I ate it there and thought, We have to do something here. It was a life-changing, eyes-closed moment. I saw all of these other bakery products that I knew could come out of her talent.
You’re solely at Tower Grove Farmers’ Market now. Are you planning on having your own space eventually?
Madeline: We want to have a brick-and-mortar space as soon as humanly possible. We want a bakery… You reach that moment where either we have to scale back or scale up, and we don’t want to scale back. But we’re not going to go crazy and get some huge spot that we can’t manage. We would really like to have something by early next year.
Gene: We’re very intentional about looking for a space—we’re looking for the perfect space. We want something affordable that will be a great launching pad for us. Eventually, I think we’d like to have a couple of stores.
What fellow farmers’ market purveyors do you use to source ingredients?
Madeline: Tower Grove Farmers’ Market is my family—I love all of the market people! I get all of our produce from the market or Eat Here Saint Louis. Friedel Family Farm has the best fruit in the world—I will die on that hill! I get so much stuff from Howie Farms & Produce and Hawthorne Honey… Just everyone!
