If you’ve spent any time wandering the streets of Evanston, Illinois, you know it’s a town defined by its institutions. You have Northwestern University, the lakefront, and—for anyone who truly appreciates a buttery, flaky crust—the Hoosier Pie Company Evanston. It wasn’t just a bakery. Honestly, it was a vibe.
It’s actually kinda rare for a niche bakery to capture the collective imagination of a whole suburb, but Hoosier Pie Company did exactly that before its transition and the eventual evolution of the space. People didn't just go there for food; they went there because they wanted a slice of Indiana heritage served up in a North Shore setting. It was basically a sugar-fueled bridge between the rustic Midwest and the academic bustle of Evanston.
What Made Hoosier Pie Company Evanston Different?
Most people assume "Hoosier Pie" is just a marketing term. It’s not. It refers specifically to the Indiana State Pie, also known as Sugar Cream Pie.
Sugar cream pie is a weirdly simple thing. It doesn't have eggs. It doesn't have fruit. It’s essentially just heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and a bit of flour or cornstarch to thicken it up, all baked in a crust that has to be sturdy enough to hold the custard but light enough to shatter when your fork hits it. At the Hoosier Pie Company Evanston, they nailed that balance.
The shop was located on Chicago Avenue, nestled in that sweet spot where locals and students overlap. While other bakeries were trying to be "artisanal" or "French-inspired," Hoosier Pie Company leaned into the farmhouse aesthetic. They weren't trying to give you a delicate macaron. They were giving you a dense, rich, nostalgic experience that felt like something your grandmother would have made—if your grandmother was a professional pastry chef with a black belt in temperature control.
The Mystery of the Sugar Cream
Why does this specific pie matter so much?
Historically, sugar cream pie was born out of necessity among Quaker settlers in Indiana. They didn't always have access to fresh fruit or expensive chocolate, but they almost always had cream and sugar. Because it lacked eggs, it was often called "desperation pie."
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But there was nothing desperate about the version in Evanston.
The bakers there understood that with only a few ingredients, there’s nowhere to hide. If the cream isn't top-tier, you taste it. If the vanilla is imitation, it’s obvious. You've probably had a "custard" pie before that felt rubbery. That's usually because it was overbaked or used too much binder. The Hoosier Pie Company Evanston avoided that trap by focusing on a silky, almost molten center that firmed up just enough to slice.
Beyond the Sugar Cream: The Full Menu
It wasn't a one-trick pony.
While the namesake pie got the headlines, the rotating menu was a masterclass in seasonal baking. You’d walk in during October and the smell of roasted pumpkin and cloves would basically slap you in the face. It was incredible. They did fruit pies too—blackberry, peach, cherry—but they treated the fruit with respect.
A lot of commercial bakeries use canned fillings or way too much cornstarch, resulting in a gelatinous blob. Not here. The Hoosier Pie Company Evanston focused on "high-fruit, low-binder" recipes. This meant the pies were sometimes a bit messy to serve, but the flavor was explosive. You were eating actual blackberries, not purple-dyed goo.
They also branched out into savory options. Their quiches and pot pies became a staple for the "I'm too tired to cook but want to feel like I did" crowd in Evanston. It provided a level of comfort food that felt authentic rather than manufactured.
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The Transition: What Happened to the Shop?
Change is the only constant in the Evanston food scene.
Eventually, the Hoosier Pie Company transformed. The space and the spirit of the bakery evolved into what became Hewn, which is now a legendary name in the bread world. In fact, many people who shop at Hewn today don't even realize they are standing in the spiritual successor to the pie shop.
The transition wasn't a failure of the pie concept; it was more of an expansion of what the community needed. Evanston transitioned from a "pie town" to a "sourdough and heritage grain town." But for the old-timers and the students who graduated a decade ago, the memory of that specific Hoosier Pie Company Evanston storefront remains a touchstone of their time in the city.
Why We Still Talk About It
Food is rarely just about the calories. It’s about the memory.
When you talk to people about the Hoosier Pie Company Evanston, they don't just talk about the sugar content. They talk about the wooden tables. They talk about the specific way the light hit the window in the afternoon. They talk about taking a whole pie to a Thanksgiving dinner and being the hero of the night because nobody had ever tasted anything like a real Indiana sugar cream pie before.
The shop helped define a specific era of Evanston’s culinary growth. It was part of a movement that moved away from "fine dining" and toward "craft baking." It proved that you could build a business around a single, humble regional specialty if you did it with enough heart and technical skill.
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How to Get Your Hoosier Pie Fix Today
Since the original shop has evolved, you might be wondering how to experience that specific Hoosier flavor.
- Visit Hewn in Evanston: While they are primarily a bakery focused on bread, they carry the torch of high-quality, hand-crafted baked goods in the same neighborhood. Their seasonal galettes and tarts carry the same DNA of quality ingredients.
- The "Wick’s" Factor: If you are desperate for the authentic Indiana Sugar Cream Pie, Wick’s Pies in Winchester, Indiana, is the gold standard for mass-produced versions. It won't have the same "Evanston" charm, but it's the official state pie.
- Make Your Own: It’s actually one of the most accessible pies to bake at home because there’s no egg tempering involved. You just need a solid pie crust recipe and a heavy hand with the cream.
The legacy of the Hoosier Pie Company Evanston isn't just in a recipe book. It’s in the way it paved the path for artisanal baking in the suburbs. It taught us that "farmhouse" wasn't a dirty word in a city—it was a luxury.
If you find yourself in Evanston today, take a walk down Chicago Avenue. Even though the signs have changed, the spirit of that small-town-meets-big-city bakery culture is still very much alive in the local coffee shops and bread houses. It all started with a simple mix of sugar and cream.
Essential Insights for Pie Lovers
If you're hunting for that specific Hoosier Pie Company Evanston experience, focus on these three things.
First, look for bakeries that use local dairy. The secret to a sugar cream pie is the butterfat content. Second, don't settle for "pudding" pies. A real Hoosier pie is baked in the crust, not poured in later. Finally, support the independent bakers in Evanston who are still doing things by hand. The town has a rich history of supporting small-batch creators, and that’s a tradition worth keeping alive.
Check out the local farmers' markets in the summer too. Many of the former staff and inspired bakers from that era still pop up with stalls, offering seasonal fruit pies that utilize the same techniques that made the Hoosier Pie Company a local legend.