Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Parra.
Hi Jose, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
We started baking pies and desserts wholesale for local coffee shops and Mexican restaurants in the Greater Austin area. As the business grew, we knew we wanted our location, a place to present not only desserts but also the recipes we grew up enjoying as kids and recipes we’ve fed our children and grandchildren. We found a fantastic spot in Round Rock near our home. It was a cottage-like building along the historic Chisholm Trail, with a patio and garden. We knew we could build something special for our customers in this space. Our ribbon-cutting ceremony was in February 2017, when we also launched a local artist exhibit series to support our creative community (many of them dear friends). Each year, we added to our menu. Growing from its beginnings as a dessert business, the Papi’s Pies restaurant now serves brunch, lunch, desserts, wine, and beer. We partnered with local artists to commission two murals along our patio, presented countless art exhibits, and hosted monthly free community parties to celebrate our supporters and local artists. The hard work of running a restaurant business is a pride and joy. I’m enormously proud that Papi’s cherry pie has won Best in Texas and Best in the World awards.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like any restaurant business, there is never a true day off, but it’s worth it if you enjoy the process and the people. As far as struggles, mainly the 2019 COVID epidemic kind of put a halt to our steady growth. Our cherry pie had just won Best in Texas, and business was starting to pick up when the epidemic suddenly hit. Thankfully, we could still get by thanks to the support from the Round Rock community and our regulars, who would come by often even though we remained only open for outdoor dining and take-out for nearly 2 years. It was a struggle, and we send a huge thank you to all of the friends of Papi’s Pies! One of our other significant challenges was losing one of our best friends in the world, Sherry. Since she was always helping us in our restaurant and our garden, we decided to name our garden after her. With friends, we had a naming ceremony; then, we had a more public dedication with our mural and bench to honor her and keep her name alive.
We’ve been impressed with Papis Pies, but for folks who might need to be more familiar, what can you share about what you do and what sets you apart?
Our bakery specializes in sweet pies, but we offer so much more than that. Our menu includes dishes from our “heritage kitchen,” based on our co-owners growing up in Mexico and Bolivia, living and traveling in Europe, and raising our children and grandchildren in the US. We are one of just a few restaurants across the US that serves Bolivian Salteñas on its menu. One of our most popular food items is the Bolivian salteña. It is like an empanada, but it is baked and contains broth, veggies, and a protein of your choice. They are Bolivia’s national dish and are extremely hard to find in the US. When we first opened, we wondered, “Will people like Bolivian food?” Very quickly, we found out they were greedy for Salteñas! And we’ve also met so many ex-pat Bolivians passing through our restaurant doors from near and far.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check?
Since I’m always looking for new ideas and techniques, I usually look at everything related to cooking online and in print!
Contact Info:
- Website: Papispies.com
- Instagram: @papispies
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/papispies
Image Credits
Papi’s Pies
