She’s famous for her cupcakes but Gigi Butler’s heart has always been in “opening a pie shop.” After selling the Gigi’s Cupcake franchises three years ago and keeping the original location on Broadway until the end of 2019 when hot chicken giant Hattie B’s took over, Gigi was ready to open something that as she puts it was “mine.” At the top of the Coronavirus crisis and for Nashville, in conjunction with the devastating tornados, Gigi got to start her pie shop focusing on the real heart of her business; serving the community. Out of a commercial kitchen with no store front, just online ordering, she began taking orders and delivering real comfort food locally. To reach as many people as possible, she set up a central
pickup location in Franklin near Whole Foods on McEwen.
Beginning in August 2020, Pies by Gigi will be opening a store front in Williamson Country. Gigi wants it to be a destination location; a place to bring tourists from Nashville into the Brentwood-based location in Brentwood Place off Franklin Rd. The dine-in location will focus on being lounge-y and comfortable; somewhere Gigi can “love on my customers”. A perfect meeting spot for bible study groups or a fantastic kid-friendly place where families can feel at home. The décor is French Farmhouse with lots of blush, pink and sage green; a welcoming soft antique feel. There will be a full tea bar along with local Just Love Coffee. There will be mini pies, quiches and muffins.
Pies by Gigi will not only serve breakfast but also lunch and dinner in their Brentwood location. Along with the dine-in services there will be catering and delivery, to-go foods like pasta salads and take-and-bake casseroles and shipping all across the country. Sounds like gift giving for friends and family who have moved away from the South just got a whole lot easier! And not one to forget, Pies by Gigi will also have a mercantile located in the shop. One of her favorite items she will be featuring is Jams by Gigi.
While Gigi’s focus is comfort food that doesn’t mean the dishes are unhealthy. A focus is to provide healthy and wholesome food along with vegan and gluten free options. She wants everyone who walks in to be “greeted with southern hospitality” and that means having a dish for everyone.
Having moved to Tennessee to pursue her music career as a singer and songwriter she’s sang at Tootsie’s and cleaned toilets before becoming the baking business mogul we know today. She’s the first to tell you, “Hard work has always been the process of my life.” And thankfully, the residents of
Williamson County are going to reap the fruits of that labor. Reflecting on her Gigi’s Cupcakes, Gigi will tell you she “didn’t really live in the moment.” She was too busy and things were moving too fast for her to take in what she had created.
Pies by Gigi is the opportunity for her to reveal in one store. This time she wants to “look at all the beauty I built.” It is a place for those who come in to feel safe and loved located in a world where often, no one pays mind to how others are feeling. A little fun fact about Gigi, Gigi is a nickname, only people who know her really well call her by her real name, Gina. I have a feeling in just a short time, the number of customers who cross over from Gigi to Gina is high and I expect she would think that’s just wonderful. GigiButler.com