Pies & Provisions

Mother-son duo bring big Texas flavor to Emerald Coast pastry business

Scents of buttery crust, fresh strawberries, and bright lemon fill the air around the Robinson’s Point Washington home, the nexus for homemade pies to order in Walton County. Julie Robinson and her son Ryan opened Pies & Provisions, a home-based bakery, in spring 2024 to supply the surrounding communities with fresh-baked pie.

“It’s becoming a lost art; it takes time and technique to make pastry crust,” Julie said. “We wanted to offer something more like what your grandmother would have made—the true oldfashioned, made-by-hand, artisan pies.”

Her mother, though a good cook, did not venture into the baking realm. Her father loved pie in all its forms, so Julie taught herself how to make them.

“He had a saying, if you asked him his favorite pie, he’d think a minute, and then he would say, ‘round,’” Julie said.

The Robinsons made the move to the Emerald Coast four years ago. Retired from Lockheed Martin and ready to let go of their Texas ranch, they started looking around 30A.

Ryan didn’t want to be the only family member left in Texas, so he made his way east as well. He found a job in project management with a local construction company, but he craved something active to get him out from behind the desk.

Looking for a different direction, Ryan and his mom put their heads together. They landed on pie.

“We love pie. I especially love to bake it. We thought the area needed a pie shop because pies make people happy,” she said.

Building out the commercial kitchen took longer than expected, which gave them more gastro & gusto time to experiment with different flours and fats to nail a classic, all-butter, flaky pastry crust. Their crumb crusts come directly from the homemade graham crackers and cookies they make. They extract their own vanilla and craft their own golden syrup—everything homemade by Julie and Ryan.

They brought more than their entrepreneurial spirit and penchant for pie from Texas. Klabosnik and kolaches, traditional yeast-based rolls filled with poppy seed cream, prune, or apricots, came over with the Czech immigrants in the 1800s.

“They’ve become a part of the Czech- Texas heritage,” Julie said. “We aren’t Czech, but we are thankful they came and settled in Texas and brought their delicious pastries. When we moved to Florida, we couldn’t find them. So, we started making them for ourselves, and now everybody in this area can enjoy them as well.”

Pulling a fresh lemon cream cheese Danish out of the oven, the newest addition to the growing menu at Pies & Provisions, Julie shared that people can visit their website to check out all the flavors available.

Most items require two days’ notice, but you can always call and see if they have time to whip something up. They deliver within a 20-mile radius from their home kitchen in Point Washington, making their territory as far as the Okaloosa County border, all the way up to Freeport and over to the Bay County line. Orders can also be scheduled for pickup.

Among Ryan’s favorites is the triple-berry pie, filled with fresh raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. But if your group is divided on whether to go fruit or cream, they have a 4-inch pie option in addition to their regular 9-inch deep dish. And don’t forget the hand pies available with several delicious fillings.

For the holiday season, the Robinsons are serving up pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies that are available for pickup on your way to parties and feasts.

“We wanted a business that would be a part of the community, and pie makes people happy,” Julie said. “Each one is a labor of love.”

Pies & Provisions

Handcrafted artisanal pies made fresh to order. Now serving Santa Rosa Beach and the coastal communities of 30A. PiesAndProvisions.com