Sister Pie bakery to expand to second cafe with some grocery options

The owner of popular, award-winning Detroit bakery Sister Pie is planning an expansion. 

Baker Lisa Ludwinski and her crew are plotting an 8,000-square-foot cafe with "lots of seating," plus grab-and-go grocery items and room for their kitchen space and offices. According to a social media post, the original Sister Pie on Kercheval will continue as their main bakery. 

"We spent time this winter talking with our 48214 community and dreaming up a new project on Mack Ave between Parker and Maxwell," reads a Facebook statement posted Thursday morning. "Aiming to open in April 2020." 

Besides a place to serve breakfast and lunch, the new location — which is a few blocks down Parker, less than a mile from the original — will have room for more classes, which are a growing part of the business. Currently the $80 baking classes at Sister Pie's Kercheval location are sold out through June. 

Ludwinski has had a huge year. In the fall she released a 256-page cookbook, and earlier this year the socially conscious business-owner was listed as a final nominee for a James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Baker (she'll find out May 6 if she wins). 

The Milford native has taken a community-based approach to her business by trying to hire workers from the neighborhood and keep an open dialogue with those who live closest to the shop. She said at an industry panel event last fall in Detroit that she encourages her employees to work together instead of one supervising another. "We kind of limited the hierarchy of positions," she said at the event. 

The Sister Pie bakery also has a "pie-it-forward" concept, where any customer can plop down a few bucks and buy a slice for those who need it, whether they are hungry due to their financial situation or just forgot their wallet. 

Sister Pie is at 8066 Kercheval in Detroit. Hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 9 a.m. until goods are sold out Sat.-Sun. Call (313) 447-5550.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens