Sister Pie Presses Pause on Mack Avenue Cafe Expansion #DetroitFood

Sister Pie. | Michelle and Chris Gerard

Owner Lisa Ludwinski decided not to lease a building on Mack Avenue

West Village’s hit bakery Sister Pie has canceled plans for a Mack Avenue expansion. In a post shared to social media on Tuesday, owner Lisa Ludwinski wrote that she and her staff “have decided not to pursue a lease at the 8110 Mack location as previously announced.”

In April, Crain’s reported that Ludwinski had signed a letter of intent for the 8,000-square-foot Mack Avenue building with plans to open Sister Pie on Mack: a 35-seat cafe with savory breakfast and lunch items; a market with a grab-and-go section and staple items like eggs, milk, and butter; as well as a space for cooking classes. At the time, Ludwinski was still piecing together funding for the project. Sister Pie was one of 15 finalists that pitched at Quicken Loans Detroit Demo Day this summer, but was not among the winners.

“One of the best (and most challenging) parts of growing a business is being able to pivot, to question, to change, and to get creative,” Ludwinski writes of the decision to pause the expansion. It’s not clear whether Sister Pie plans to explore other sites for a new location. Ludwinski was not immediately available for comment on the decision. Eater will update this post soon.

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Hey folks, Lisa here! After lots of deep reflection and tough conversation, we have decided not to pursue a lease at the 8110 Mack location as previously announced. I personally struggled with this because we had shared the news so publicly (and with so much enthusiasm from YOU). But we are pro-transparency and this is part of that journey. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. ❤️ One of the best (and most challenging) parts of growing a business is being able to pivot, to question, to change, and to get creative. Including people affected by Sister Pie in our process is what we’ll continue to do as we assess what’s next. Stay tuned, folks! Time to prep for our annual 1000-pie bake in our sweet little shop on Kercheval. #tshirttease

A post shared by Sister Pie (@sisterpiedetroit) on Oct 29, 2019 at 7:44am PDT

The news comes as Sister Pie enters the busy holiday season. The shop has already closed its pre-orders for Thanksgiving, though customers can always stop by the Kercheval for first-come, first-served pies during the holiday week.

• Sister Pie’s Next Big Move Is a Cafe and Grocery Store [ED]
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