The New Zealand-style savory pies from Heaps pair well with craft beer

Flavors include Beef & Cheddar, Thai Chicken Curry, and Carnitas Al Pastor

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Photo by Richard Williams

In 2011, New Zealand native Jake Harvey followed his heart to New York City, baking savory pies in his tiny apartment to ease his homesickness. He became the general manager of now-defunct Tuck Shop, an Australian pie company in Chelsea Market, and learned the business. After moving to Atlanta, he decided he wanted to bring a taste of home to the South.

“All my life I’ve eaten pies,” he says. “In New Zealand, it’s a tradesman food. You eat it with your hands between breakfast and lunch. You can eat it for lunch, too.”

While waiting tables at the Brick Store Pub in Decatur, Harvey managed to work his pies into many a conversation. “I thought it was strange how breweries here didn’t have any food,” he says.

In 2018, he bought a pie warmer and started selling individual Heaps pies in varieties like Beef & Cheddar, Thai Chicken Curry, Carnitas Al Pastor, and Mushroom Medley. Today, his pies are sold at 10 breweries around Atlanta, including Three Taverns Brewery, Round Trip Brewing, Steady Hand Beer Co., and Contrast Artisan Ales, plus Boggs Social & Supply and select farmers markets.

Hand pie

Photo by Richard Williams

“It’s so quick. It’s premade. There’s no cooking on site, so it’s easy for one person to man the station,” Harvey says. “It’s savory and perfect with beer. It’s a pretty good match.”

He has a core set of eight pies, in addition to monthly specials like the Oktoberfest, made with bratwurst, potatoes, and mustard gravy. The ½-pound pies cost $8 to $9 each. “They look small, but you eat one and you’re good,” he says.

He strives to use local ingredients like Southern capped mushrooms and grass-fed beef from Stone Mountain Cattle. He makes everything at Boggs, including fish and chips, a favorite from his childhood.

“I’d love to have them in Whole Foods and other places,” Harvey says as he eyes the future.

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