The Pie Shoppe has been serving customers and dishing out desserts for more than 75 years
LAUGHLINTOWN, Pa. (KDKA) — At the foot of Laurel Mountain along Route 30 sits The Pie Shoppe.
Melvin Columbus and his mother, Mildred, started the shop, and it has been a family business since 1947.
Tom Columbus, the current owner of The Pie Shoppe, says that his grandmother was running a boarding house in Monessen in the '40s, but he says it is a family mystery as to why his dad and his grandmother chose to start a bake shop in Laughlintown.
"I don't really know what prompted them to come out to Laughlintown," said Tom Columbus. "Population of probably 250,300 people and open up a bakery, but they did that."
The Pie Shoppe's story doesn't begin in Laughlintown. It begins with Melvin Columbus in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was a gunner on a sister ship to the USS North Carolina and when he wasn't firing a gun, he was working in the kitchen.
Melvin Columbus perfected many recipes while he was in the Navy, but it was his recipe for cinnamon rolls that became the talk of the fleet. And it was that recipe that he brought back home to Laughlintown and that The Pie Shoppe has been making ever since.
"They're not fancy in any way," Tom Columbus said. "They're bread dough and butter and cinnamon. And they have been a hit ever since."
The Pie Shoppe has many favorites and many fans. A steady stream of people come through its doors daily for everything from cinnamon rolls to pizza rolls. Folks like Rick Maljan, who said that there is a lot to love about this place.
"The convenience of it. It's right on the main drag," said Maljan. "And everything I've ever gotten here is delicious."
So the next time you are in the mood for something sweet, think about stopping by The Pie Shoppe, a place that's been 75 years in the baking. For more information, click here.