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Pies and Cakes, run by owner Chastity Hise, is located at 701 W. Clay St. in the Carver neighborhood.
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Window seating inside the bakery
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The bakery counter
When Chastity Hise was growing up in Dinwiddie, her grandmother, the queen bee of baking in her family, would slyly slip her a lemon meringue pie and tell her to hide it in the fridge.
Birthday cakes were a serious matter, and each year Hise’s mother would make it her mission to bake or source a memorable themed creation. And in high school, if you were friends with Hise, chances are she crafted your birthday dessert.
So, as she stands inside her recently opened Carver neighborhood bake shop, Pies and Cakes Bakery, sporting an “eat dessert first” necklace, the moment feels organic and on brand.
“Baking has definitely always been a part of me and something that I’ve gravitated towards,” says Hise, the sole baker behind the shop.
Located at 701 W. Clay St., the bakery space formerly housed the now shuttered Nutty Buttery Cafe. And while it seems fitting for Hise to be selling sweets, her past lives include work as a therapist and hair stylist, the three jobs more connected than one might think.
"I like to create things, I like to make things,” she says. “With hair it was all about, what can I create that will make them feel really good about themselves and meets their needs and lifestyle, custom tailoring something to the person, and with baking it’s making something custom for them — I love that parallel of creativity.
“I went from therapy behind the couch, to therapy behind the chair, to therapy through baked goods,” she continues with a laugh.
After practicing psychology for a few years, Hise transitioned to working at the front of house in restaurants while apprenticing as a hairdresser, the latter of which stuck. A stylist for the past 20 years, Hise says her niche is specialty, funky color-and-cut combos.
During the pandemic, when salons were closed, Hise, already an avid home baker, began to post Instagram stories asking friends to contact her for orders — her inbox became flooded with requests for custom cakes and treats.
“It went over really well, and then I made enough each week to pay my rent,” she says.
The real shift came when her salon reopened, and, despite Hise returning to work, the baked goods orders kept coming in.
“When we went back, I shortened my hours at the salon and was only working four hours a day so I could bake in the afternoon,” she says. “I would could home and take off my hairstylist apron and put on my baking apron and get to it.”
At the end of last year, Hise decided to make baking her full-time gig.
The menu at Pies and Cakes is short and sweet. The three C’s — cakes, cupcakes and cookies — take center stage, in addition to pies and brownies. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Hise says she’s embracing life’s simple treats and keeping selections classic.
While offerings will rotate and specials will be introduced, staple menu items include carrot and hummingbird cakes, along with vanilla and devil's-food cakes and strawberry-lemon cupcakes.
“Tomorrow I’m throwing all that out the window and doing two totally different cupcake flavors because I wanted to,” Hise says. “Lemon Lovers’, and then doing a churro cupcake — I’m Mexican heritage and love a churro.”
Customers will also find chocolate-sea salt and lemon-ricotta cookies in the case, along with brownie bars and other treats.
“I grew up with people, all my family, was great cooks, and baking was just kind of what we did. We always had desserts,” she says. "Always save room for dessert."
Participating in the second annual Duke’s Hot Tomato Summer tour, next week Hise’s only available pie will be tomato, a 6-inch, buttery, flaky creation featuring a custard made from Duke’s, mascarpone and basil, topped with fresh sliced tomatoes, then baked and adorned with basil.
“Tomato sandwich in pie form,” Hise says.
On July 23, Hise and her husband, Russell, will host their first sourdough pizza pop-up, an event they envision doing bimonthly. ’Za fans can order classic varieties or specials such as the RVA, made with Virginia country ham, local ’maters and optional Duke’s tomato-basil aioli, or the Tulum, a Mexican-inspired variety featuring ground chorizo, pickled red onions and fresh sliced jalapenos and topped with cotija cheese and roasted corn.
The duo plan to offer three different bases: a classic tomato; the Catalan, which is based on tomato bread from Spain; and a white pizza.
Pies and Cakes Bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
