Out to lunch with Payton: a farewell to Ashland Pot Pie Company

Hello again, foodies!

In my last column, I dove into the Mediterranean-inspired creations of the Town of Ashland’s, Ash & Olive.

This week, I got to try Ashland Pot Pie Company, an Ashland comfort food staple, before learning that they will soon be closing their doors.

Rachel Propst and her sister, Sarah Wimmer, created the concept of their business in 2020. The pair had learned a lot of their culinary skills from their mother, who always cooked homemade meals and influenced their love for cooking.

After becoming a mom herself, Propst said that she had begun making her own chicken pot pies as a meal prep option to “make mom life easier”. Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Propst and Wimmer were inspired to sell their culinary creations to the public to bring a form of comfort to a time of uncertainty.

“People were ordering a lot of takeout, and I thought, ‘People are sick of just pizza and takeout’,” said Propst. “People needed some homemade comfort food.”

The duo decided to start making sweet and savory pies to sell to the community. Propst eventually reached out to Chris Stem, owner of the Ashland Meat Company, and secured their brick-and-mortar restaurant space that they have been operating out of for the past five years.

“Our community is everything to us,” said Propst. “They can see the hard work and passion I put into every day, and I love creating food for people from all around to come in and enjoy.”

Since I’ve begun my column, I have received numerous suggestions to come and try Ashland Pot Pie Company from residents who have expressed their love and passion for their pies. I was shocked to learn that this well-adored comfort food spot would soon be closing their doors.

“It’s very sad, but it just feels like the right time for me to make a change,” said Propst.

Propst has been the main owner for the past two years, after Wimmer had to step down due to personal reasons. As a working owner, Propst has noted that it becomes overwhelming having to juggle all aspects from books, to customer service, to cooking her orders from scratch as well.

“It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done, but it’s also been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” said Propst. “It’s so hard to stay alive as a small business, you have to have the passion otherwise we wouldn’t have even lasted a year.”

Propst said that she does still plan on selling her pies at pop-up and local farmer’s markets, however, the Ashland Pot Pie Company storefront will be turning off their ovens at the end of May.

“I’ll still be around town as I try to figure out how I can mold my business into something a little different that works for me,” said Propst.

Propst says that although this decision has been difficult to navigate, she looks forward to having more time to spend with her family.

Ashland Pot Pie Company is encouraging residents to come in for their final farewells throughout the rest of this month. For those looking for some suggestions, here are my top picks that will be hard to part with during this transition:

The mushroom potato and leek pot pie was my overall favorite of the savory selection I had tried. It is well seasoned, with a creamy mushroom filling that was delightful and rich, but still had a vegetarian lightness. All of the pot pie crusts were buttery, flaky and beautifully baked.

The chicken poblano pot pie was a delicious southwest twist to the standard chicken pot pie, bringing in a bit more spice and pepper flavor. It is also served with a refreshing salsa and sour cream.

The strawberry cream pot pie with powdered sugar had an elevated “pop tart” like flavor. The strawberry cream tasted fresh and had a well-balanced filling to crust ratio.

The chocolate ganache pot pie with a vanilla glaze was my personal favorite of the sweet pies I had tried. The ganache was smooth, with a light vanilla glazed on the outside crust that is perfect for any sweet chocolate lover.

Overall, I’m sad to hear that this town favorite will soon be saying farewell. However, I would recommend all local pie lovers to stop in and grab a pie this month before its too late.

Tips encouraged.

As you should do at the end of any lunch, I want to leave my readers with a “tip”. However, these will be for cooking rather than monetary, from the local chefs in their own community.

Chef and owner Rachel Propst’s tip for readers:

“If you can, always use fresh ingredients. Fresh is best!” said Propst.

I’m excited to continue this journey of connecting more with The Local readers’ community during my lunch hour. Eat well, tip well.