North Idaho favorite Birdie’s Pie Shop opens new store in Spokane

Birdie’s has taken flight – again.

The popular pie shop that first opened in 2019 in Post Falls before expanding to Hayden in 2021 opens Saturday in a building that once housed a bail bonds company at 712 N. Monroe St. in Spokane.

“We thought our second shop would be in Spokane,” owner Sharee Moss said. “We have the customers here to love and support us. But, it was not the right timing with COVID.”

Speaking of the pandemic, the first shop opened in Post Falls in December 2019, just three months before most of the business world changed in unimaginable ways.

“It was pretty terrifying, but the community rallied around us,” Moss said. “We had 21 free days with pies during the lockdown. No questions asked, you got a free pie. We tried to provide warmth and comfort during that crisis.”

Moss and her husband, Active Travel Marketing founder and director Brad Moss, then faced the same problems that plagued all local restaurant owners: supply issues, higher costs for ingredients and staffing challenges.

“I’ve battled hard,” Sharee Moss said. “I hope we are finally getting to the point where we can grow out our business.”

Judging from the response to its soft opening on Thursday and Friday, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Sharee Moss never stopped moving Friday morning as she pulled pies out of the oven, pushed them onto the display counter and then ran back to check on supplies on the computer.

The staff was a never-ending orchestra of movement.

Brad Moss said that at one point on Thursday’s soft opening for the shop’s “frequent fliers,” he had to take money at the till.

“I haven’t had to do that since it opened in December 2019,” he said. “We went through three times the pies we normally sell. We had 5,000 (smaller) personal pies go out the door on Thursday.”

On Friday, Chanel Skjothaug, 30, of Cheney, was one of dozens of customers who filed through the door. She brought her son, Arlo, who turns 2 in October.

Arlo appeared just like one would expect a toddler to look in a pie shop: wide eyes and little hands reaching for the treats behind the glass.

“We found them in Hayden. Then we learned they were in Post Falls, which is closer,” Skjothaug said. “We come here for the pies, for sure. But everyone here is so nice. We are glad to not have to commute so far to get the pies.”

Getting started

Sharee Moss has a master’s degree and also works three days a month as a certified nurse practitioner in the pediatric emergency room at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

The career and her pie shops are managed around her biggest commitment: Sharee Moss is a mother of six.

“I love that (nurse practitioner) job. But otherwise, this (pie shop business) and my six kids keep me busy,” she said. “My husband is a huge support. He keeps me grounded.”

Brad Moss said the key to managing both his and Sharee’s businesses, and six kids, comes at the end of the week.

“The only way it works is through date night,” Brad Moss said. “We never miss Friday night date night. Nothing gets in the way. That’s how we prioritize things as a couple.”

But the family also delayed the Spokane opening for reasons other than business.

“We waited (on opening in Spokane) until school started,” Brad Moss said. “We can ruin kids’ lives if we don’t put up some blocks.”

Among her schooling and training to become a nurse practitioner, Sharee Moss found she had a passion for cooking.

“I just loved it. Every Sunday, I made dessert after church and I made desserts for holidays,” she said.

The pies

The variety of choices at Birdie’s is difficult to fathom.

For starters, the shop offers 2-inch pies called “Birdie’s,” which are mini-mini pies that allow customers to try different flavors.

It then offers “personal” pies, which are smaller portions designed for a single serving. And the shop markets the personal pies in a “quad,” four personal pies that allow customers to mix and match types and flavors.

Of course, the shop sells whole pies, which are the size most customers associate with a large pie.

The prices range from $5.95 for a personal up to $34 for a whole, depending on the type.

The pies are separated between more than 20 versions of “savory” pies, including the chicken pot pie, which sells out every day, to the sweet pies, of which the shop makes more than 100 versions, including a “caramelized banana cream pie.”

“Many people think we are only sweet pies. But we are an excellent place for a stop-and-grab dinner or lunch,” Sharee Moss said. “If you don’t want to cook, you can grab a pie on your way home.”

One of the more popular “savory” pies is the “pulled pork mac n cheese” pie. It has cheese crumbles over a bed of macaroni and cheese that is piled over a filling of pulled pork.

All the options can also be made to order online and picked up at the location, which will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s closed on Sundays and Mondays. During the week, the shops are open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday.

“I have a really good support staff and an amazing family who loves and supports me,” Sharee Moss said. “I couldn’t do it without them.”