LUCEDALE, Miss. (WKRG) — A family start-up business in Lucedale is gaining popularity for its fried pies. At Magnolia Pie Company, you can enjoy delicious handheld pies made from scratch.

The pies come in a wide variety of tasty flavors and they’re pretty to look at, too.

“As far as our area, I believe that we are the only people who do fried pies. There are some that do baked hand pies, but we are the only ones that fry them,” said Kaytelin Stewart.

Stewart is the owner of Magnolia Pie Company and the one responsible for spreading these treats all over George County. She and her staff have made around 40 different types of pies and announce flavors daily on Facebook.

“They’re never the same. Each week gets something different,” said Stewart.

She keeps the menu interesting by mixing it up, and so far, things have been working out. Stewart didn’t start this venture, though, with hopes of having a booming business. She says this all began as a way for her to manage her postpartum depression.

“After I had my son, I really, really struggled with, you know, who am I outside of being his mom? Who am I? I have no clue. So my mom encouraged me to start making things from scratch,” Stewart recalls.

From there, she started making everything she could from scratch, including bread puddings, brownies, potstickers, and eventually, fried pies.

“One day my sister and her boyfriend came back from an Amish community that they visited in Tennessee, and they had this fried pie,” said Stewart.

She tasted the pie and then decided to try her hand at it. That decision set forward the motion to get her version of the pie out for everyone to enjoy. Since making her first sale in 2021, Stewart said business has not slowed down.

“My first order was three dozen and now on Saturday, we average three dozen probably every 5 minutes,” said Stewart.

Not only are sales growing, but the shop, affectionately called the “pie shed” has grown as well.

“It was just one 12×24 building that we had delivered in October of ‘22. And then I had it finished out, contracted,” said Stewart.

By March, a second building was added to expand the shop so Stewart and her staff have plenty of space to hand-make the pie crusts and a wide range of fillings. Some of the flavors may surprise you.

“We do like surf and turf, which is angel hair, pasta with alfredo sauce, steak and shrimp inside of a pie. That’s what I lean towards. But we try to hold true to some classic flavors, too. So we do apple, lemon,” Stewart explains.

You can stop by the pie shed to pick up orders on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. While customers don’t stay long, Stewart prides herself on making sure they have the best experience with each visit.

“We just try to do good and do right by the people that we serve,” said Stewart. “What we do with them, or how we can show them that we care about you while you’re here is what matters to me.”

With the excellent service and yummy pies, it’s not hard to see why business is growing and why customers return week after week. The next time you’re exploring Lucedale, make Magnolia Pie Company one of your stops.