Southern-style chess pie is one of Allen Love’s favorites.
The baker’s recipe is simple: eggs, butter and sugar, which come together to form a creamy custard filling.
Originating in Mississippi and passed down through generations of the Love family, the chess pie is a signature dessert for Love’s Custard Pies.
Love launched the Detroit-based business in 2008 with his late wife Donnie Love and over the past 17 years has built a customer base nationwide – even appearing on two of chef Andrew Zimmern’s Travel Channel: “Bizarre Foods America” and “The Zimmern List.”
“We’re that little place you can go to and know you’re going to get a good pie,” Love said. “That’s what I’ve always wanted us to be.”
Every Saturday, Love and his current wife, Erica Love, set up shop at Eastern Market to sell familiar favorites like pecan, chocolate and key lime pies. The Detroiters put their own spin on pies too, such as beer nut chess and a “light and fluffy” sweet potato custard, which Allen Love said, “is better than a regular sweet potato pie.”
The Loves are gearing up for the spring and summer when they serve hundreds of customers each week in Detroit and visit various summer farmers markets.
Allen Love said he’s had opportunities to sell his pies in grocery stores, but worries that if he did, the quality won’t remain the same. Plus, Love said he wants to retain the small, mom-and-pop atmosphere of the business.
“A lot of people want to get into Whole Foods, get into Meijer, and that’s a lot of work,” he said. “We’re not well-known like Grand Traverse (Pie Company).”
The little pie company that could
Allen Love’s passion for cooking and baking started in the 1970s when he was a student at the now-shuttered Chadsey High School on Detroit’s west side. He was part of the school’s commercial foods program, where students learned facets of the restaurant and hospitality industries. During that time, Love said, he won two gold medals in a food competition against Schoolcraft College.
After high school, Love enlisted in the U.S. Army and became a cook. When his three years of service were over, he attended a culinary school in Texas and then moved back to Detroit and worked for a Kosher catering company.
Eventually, he spent several years heading his own catering company before starting Love’s Custard Pies, traveling to different markets around metro Detroit before settling at Eastern Market.
The company has a social media presence with Facebook and Instagram accounts, but its customer base – throughout metro Detroit to Chicago and even California – is mainly attributed to word of mouth.
Love said the California customer saw a clip of the company’s appearance on “Bizarre Foods” back in 2012 and wanted to know if Love could mail some pies.
“I said, ‘No, we don’t do that,’” Love said with a laugh.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business, like many others, took a hit. While the Loves’ stand at Eastern Market stayed open, not many people were stopping by. But now, Love said, things are on the rebound.
“Our numbers are coming back. They’re increasing, especially during the summer,” he said. “Customers from 10, 15 years ago are starting to come back, saying ‘I’m glad you’re still here.’”
A family business
Since Allen and Erica Love got married three years ago, the company has been a team effort of baking and selling pies on Saturdays.
Erica Love said the selling aspect of the business pushed her out of her comfort zone at first, but with practice, it became easier to talk to customers.
“Selling and all that, that’s not me because I don’t like to talk,” she said. “But just to see him in his element, to see him in the kitchen baking and selling brings me joy because I know he truly enjoys it.”
Allen Love said his wife makes the “best key lime pie west of the Mississippi.”
“In the beginning, I showed her how to do it and she took it to another level,” he said. “If we don’t have it, we have people come by to wait for it to be ready. She’s a very important part. A lot of things I couldn’t do without her being here.”
Allen Love said his five daughters also pitch in by baking and selling pies.
“If I need them in this kitchen, they won’t hesitate. They’ll come without a doubt,” he said.
As the Loves think about the future of the business, Erica is envisioning an expansion. She eventually wants to have a food truck where she and her husband can sell pies and coffee.
“I’m looking forward to that adventure,” she said. “Everybody drinks coffee and I think it’d be good for the business.”
Allen also noted another drink that pairs well with his flaky, sweet chess pies: bourbon.
“If you happen to drink some bourbon and have our pie, it’s a taste out of this world,” he said.
After a 40-year career in the food industry, Love said he can see himself going on for another decade or so before handing over the business to his family. But he’s ultimately leaving future plans up to a higher power.
“We’re not wealthy people, but we’re wealthy in our faith and God makes sure that we make enough money to provide for us. And I know he’ll take it further because we trust him,” he said.