September 5, 2024
By: Katherine Trowbridge
Who doesn’t love pie? While many dinner restaurants offer a slice of pie, they typically aren’t as widespread as say, cakes or other desserts.
Franklin County has a new little niche restaurant that is focusing on none other than pies. The sweet or savory little bites are worth a try. Yes, you read that right, little bites not slices, or as the sign says, “Mini Pie Bites… Pites.”
Pie Sharks serves up sweet or savory individually wrapped “Pites” with a rotating menu offering a variety of flavors from traditional to unique.
Justen Tsjarks stands at the counter eager to greet pie lovers at Pie Sharks.
Like many during the pandemic, owner Justen Tjarks, tried his hand at baking bread but quickly found that wasn’t for him. He moved on to baking. Working on baking pies, he struggled with the crust until he came across a unique mix using butter and olive oil. He shared that as he was creating a new recipe, he couldn’t wait the time it took for a large pie to bake to taste his latest creation so he would create a mini pie to try. This led to his unique Pites and ultimately his restaurant.
Tjarks grew up in California and served in the Air Force. While the Staff Sergeant’s name was hard for his recruits to pronounce, he ultimately got the nickname Staff Sgt. Shark. He kept the endearing title and incorporated it into the name of his restaurant, “Pie Sharks.”
Tjarks shared that he didn’t have a sweet tooth growing up and that cakes are just too sweet for him. While he does like cheesecake, he was never really a fan of the crumbly crust. He has, however, found a perfect match for cheesecake with his unique pie crust. His passion for pies has grown on him, he said as he didn’t always have it. Now, he shares that passion with the world around him… one Pite at a time.
Along with his wife and daughter, who he is affectionately writing a book for, Tjarks resides in Richland. He initially worked out of the Red Mountain Kitchen in Kennewick, but space is limited and he sought a spot with a store frontage. There aren't very many options or commercial kitchen spaces for home cooks in the area. The Pasco Speciality Kitchen recently changed hands from a non profit to the City of Pasco and he was able to get in on the project, renovating his little space to suit his needs. Pasco is currently seeking more restaurateurs to lease the other window shops.
Tjarks expressed excitement for his newest “sweet” flavor, a mix of peach and rhubarb. On the sweet side is also his cheesecake. His savory pies include Street Corn which is all that you would expect, just in a mini pie form. Almost like a street corn dip with chips. Popular flavors include the mildly spicy Jalapeno Bacon Cream Cheese Pite and the Lemon Cream Pite.
Tjarks shared that all his Pites are made from scratch with fresh ingredients and nutrition and allergy information is provided. He is also offering vegan and gluten free options. New flavors debut every week, and on Fridays, the lowest-selling flavors are replaced with fresh recipes.
Tjarks spoke of his reason for moving away from large pies to mini “pites” sharing, “The benefit of Pites here is that you get a variety of flavors sweet and savory so you’re not just stuck with one big pie without any option to change things up.”
He added, “Pites can do for pies what cupcakes did for cake. It's great for parties, birthdays, or even weddings and offers a number of choices so everyone can get what they want.”
His “Pites” sell for $4 each. You can order online (at www.piesharks.com) to pick up at his Pasco storefront located right across from the Pasco Farmers Market at 110 S. 4th in Pasco.
Tjarks encourages our readers to “Come and take a Pite!”
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