Tip Top Savory Pies to open Gunbarrel location

Savory pies, whiskey barrel roasted coffee on nitro, and New Zealand-style ice cream are just some of the items customers can enjoy when Tip Top Savory Pies of Lafayette opens a second location in Gunbarrel this spring.

The 4,000 square-foot location will open doors in late April or early in May in the Gunpark Drive development close to King Soopers and next to Anytime Fitness. It will include plenty of on-site, indoor and outdoor seating for customers to enjoy menu options. It will also have a walk-up window which, at the other location, had grown popular during the pandemic.

The new site will house an expanded commercial kitchen, which was previously housed in rented spaces in both Longmont and Boulder. With the new kitchen, the store will be able to create more variety, including gluten-free pies and a larger variety of ice cream flavors.

Chef Christine Carr founded Tip Top Pies with longtime friend Robert Morrow. "The inspiration behind Tip Top was Robert being from New Zealand and not being able to get a good savory pie," said Carr. "I was in sales and marketing but became a chef later on down the road. We joined forces to create this company."

Before opening any kind of brick and mortar location, the pair sold pies at Niwot's Old Oak Coffeehouse. "Because we weren't in a USDA kitchen, we really couldn't sell meat pies wholesale, so we were selling our vegetarian pies there. People really wanted our meat pies, so we knew, eventually, we'd be opening our own shop."

About two-and-a-half years ago, the pair opened their first restaurant, an 800 square-foot shop located on South Public Road in Lafayette. "We originally developed the location as an experiment," Carr said. "We treated it as almost like a pop-up. Robert is very inventive, a great builder and carpenter. We threw everything together and even made a counter out of crates. We did the work ourselves. There was a lot of sweat equity involved."

"We call it the little pie shack," said Carr. She credits the area's savory pie lovers for the first location's success.

"The community in Lafayette and the surrounding area really embraced us. It enabled us to grow into the company we are and be able to open up a second shop. What works for us is being in communities and neighborhoods."

Once the new Gunbarrel location is open, service will extend beyond the immediate area with delivery service similar to pizza delivery. It will extend to parts of the county that potentially include Niwot. At press time, the pair was still evaluating delivery companies, and delivery maps, for this piece of their service. They're open to suggestions from future customers.

In addition to proximity to local residents and businesses, multiple regionally and nationally prominent beermakers are nearby. These include Finkel and Garf Brewing Company, Beyond the Mountain Brewing Company, Gunbarrel Brewing, Asher Brewing Company, and brewing behemoth Avery Brewing Company.

"In Lafayette, many people would stop by to pick up some pies and head to the breweries. I could see that happening again. It would also be nice to collaborate with a brewery for our steak and ale pie."

Though these next few weeks will have a lot of activity for the owners, Carr is looking forward to the result. When asked how she was feeling, she paused before responding, though her enthusiasm was evident.

"This is part of our plan. We have proven the business model. We know it works. When you first open a business it's a lot about working out the kinks for everything. We were able to use Lafayette to experiment and really see what customers want. It's exciting to have a lot of experience now with opening the shop. We're excited about it."