By Marice Richter
Photography by Thanin Viriyaki
Growing up in Waco, Judy Bernstein Balunda’s favorite pastime was mixing up little concoctions in her childhood Dream Kitchen.
On the weekends, she and her sister would help gather and shell pecans so her mother could prepare the family’s favorite dessert for Sunday dinners — homemade pecan pie.
Balunda’s enthusiasm for play baking and her love of pie had her mother convinced that someday baking pie would play a prominent role in her daughter’s life.
It would be decades before that happened, but her mother’s intuition proved correct.
This year, Balunda’s JudyPie, a pie shop and bakery, marks its ninth year in business on Main Street in Downtown Grapevine. The shop prepares about a dozen varieties of fruit and cream pies daily that are based on her mother’s recipes.
The shop also produces meat potpies, cakes and “PieScream” sandwiches, a pie ice cream sandwich. On the weekends and by special order, fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and sticky buns are also available. Gluten-free, keto, vegan goods and dog treats are also on the menu.
The shop is adorned with vintage décor, as well as photos of Balunda’s mother, Rhoda Bernstein, who inspired her love of baking and her business motto: “The secret ingredient is love.”
While JudyPie has long been a popular spot for locals and visitors to enjoy a slice in the shop or pick up a pie or other baked good to go, it now has much wider acclaim. Last year, the shop was nominated as one of USA Today’s 10 Best Pie Shops in the nation and was rewarded with fifth place based on community voting. JudyPie was the only shop in Texas to have been nominated in the newspaper’s competition.
Balunda’s decision to open a pie shop came after a long career as a special education teacher. After graduating from the University of Texas in 1975, she began teaching in the Austin area.
After a few years, she moved to Dallas, where her sister and brother-in-law lived. She spent a few years working in her brother-in-law’s lighting shop and then for a real estate developer, who eventually bought the shop, and where she would meet her future husband, Dave Balunda.
Her business experience led to the ownership of a stationery shop in Colleyville, but her heart remained tied to working with children with special needs. So she returned to the classroom to round out a teaching career of nearly 30 years, mostly at Grapevine Middle School.
After retiring in 2013, her ex-husband suggested she open a pie shop. By then, her two children were grown.
“It was the power of suggestion,” she said. “I was at home and what else did I have to do? I said to myself, I can do this.”
Although she had faced health issues, including colon cancer, she was determined to open her pie shop.
Because of her long involvement and commitment to children with special needs, as well as her past struggle with depression, she is a fierce advocate for people with mental health issues.
“I’m a cancer survivor, and I can tell you it’s a lot easier to have cancer than mental health issues,” she said.
As a result, she encourages customers to leave donations to MHMR (My Health, My Resources) rather than tips. She also encourages patrons to write notes of encouragement to MHMR patients, which she brings to a Tarrant County MHMR facility during her frequent good will visits when she drops off pies for patients.
In the shop, she offers special events such as National Pi Day (March 14), where all pies are $3.14, as well as National Pie Day (Jan. 23), also with special pricing.
With so many pie flavors available, choosing is often challenging for customers, she said. But samples are always available.
Jonathan Morris, owner of Fort Worth Barbershop
