Home Slice Handmade Pies Finds Success in Bondurant

In August of 2022, Laura Lacina moved her small pie business into its current location in Bondurant. Since then, the owner and baker at Home Slice Handmade Pies has increased her number of weekly pie flavor offerings from four to between six and eight, changing up the flavors to keep things fresh week to week. Lacina was not a baker before starting Home Slice Handmade Pies, but her grandmothers baked and once she started, she realized she had a knack for it, too.

Home Slice Handmade Pies originally ran out of Lacina’s home kitchen until it quickly outgrew the space and needed a storefront to reach its customers. The building that now houses Home Slice Handmade Pies took a year to build out, with Lacina’s husband doing most of the work to build their space. Iowa Floor Covering installed the flooring in their building and rents the space to Lacina. Lacina, who grew up in Des Moines and lived in Ankeny for a while, decided on Bondurant because of its smaller size. The community continues to grow, and Lacina has found amazing support for her business and family. The City of Bondurant has been easy to work with as well, and as a Chamber board member, support is easy to come by for developing small businesses.

 

Baking + Managing Home Slice Handmade Pies Operations

Right now, Home Slice Handmade Pies exclusively offers mini pies, but Lacina looks forward to a time when she can offer whole pies again, including pot pies — which are still available through custom pre-orders. Lacina has created pie-themed events to get people thinking pie as well, including her Pie Shop March Madness event, where she encouraged pie lovers to vote for their favorites on social media or in the shop (French Silk was the big winner!), as well as her New Year’s Eve Flights event featuring four mini pies — Banoffee, Strawberry Champagne, Almond Joy and Chinese 5 Spice Apple Pie — to ring in 2024. Most recently, Lacina won 2023 Business Person of the Year and Home Slice won 2023 Small Business of the Year during the Annual Dinner & Awards event in March.

Lacina’s baking schedule is four days on — Wednesday through Saturday — and three days off during the Downtown Farmers' Market season. This schedule works best for her family so she can balance business and family obligations. These boutique hours mean she’s not on social media 24/7 or baking constantly, but she will occasionally meet for pickup if an event falls on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.

The next time you’re in Bondurant, stop in for a slice of home. For more information on Home Slice Handmade Pies, follow on Facebook and Instagram.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership celebrates the Greater Des Moines (DSM) entrepreneur community and helps small businesses succeed with one-of-a-kind resources and opportunities for networking. Find out how other entrepreneurs have found success by reading their stories and attending local small business events in the region.