After three long years away, A la Mode Pies is officially on its way back to PhinneyWood. Construction is underway on their new flagship café located on the ground floor of the new Woodland View Apartments at 59th and Phinney Ave—the exact spot where the beloved pie shop opened in 2011.
The return is a long time coming. Homestead Community Land Trust redeveloped the former property into permanent affordable housing, which meant A la Mode had to close their original Phinney location. However, owner Chris Porter, aka the Pie Guy, started planning the café’s return two years before it served its last slice in August 2023.
“My dream of owning the best pie shop in Seattle was baked on that corner,” says Porter. “For more than a decade, Phinney embraced my big idea and made A la Mode part of this neighborhood’s story. This reopening is only happening because of that love, and now it’s my turn to give it back. I just want to bring the smell of fresh apple pie home to a neighborhood I adore.”
The return to PhinneyWood took longer than originally hoped. Seattle’s lengthy permitting process, combined with a few unexpected hiccups, pushed the anticipated opening from this November to January 2027. Despite the delay, the Pie Guy plans to sell his handmade pies on the location’s corner during Thanksgiving week, even though the cafe won’t be open for regular business. Customers can pre-order from the Thanksgiving menu starting October 1 by visiting the A la Mode Pies website.
“This year, our holiday pie sales are doing double duty,” says Porter, who’s funding the new café out of his own pocket. “Every pie ordered helps cover the real cost of bringing this space back to life. If you’ve ever loved a slice from A la Mode, now’s the time to order your Thanksgiving pie and help us make this our biggest turnout yet.”
In the coming months, Porter promises to share plenty of tasty tidbits exclusively with the PNA’s PhinenyWood blog. Soon, Porter will take us on a private tour inside the new space, sharing with the neighborhood an early taste of the café’s innovative design and revamped menu. We’ll also be the first to announce the grand opening date here on the blog.
Pie Meets Pint at Flying Bike
In the meantime, for those wanting to get their pie fix in now, A la Mode has teamed up with neighborhood favorite Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery to host two Thanksgiving pie-and-beer tasting events on October 17, inside the brewery’s Aviator Alcove. The back-to-back events will give A la Mode fans the first bite of four new pie additions to this year’s Thanksgiving menu, all expertly paired with Flying Bike beers.
The first tasting runs from 5–6:30 p.m., followed by a second session from 7–8:30 p.m. With only 16 seats per tasting, tickets will sell out quickly, so reserve your spot today! Ticket price: $50
Save a Slice for the Bears
A la Mode has also found a distinctly PhinneyWood way to mark its return: with pie, the Woodland Park Zoo, and a few grizzly critics. During the month of September, a portion of sales from their new Wild BEARy pie benefits the Zoo’s two resident brown bears, Fern and Juniper, by providing support for their long-term care and nourishment. A la Mode created a playful video to promote the partnership—which Porter describes as one of the most rewarding collaborations the pie shop has ever put its claws into.
So while January may feel a long way off, A la Mode is already finding creative and generous ways to reconnect with the neighborhood that established it as a Seattle dessert destination. Stay tuned for more as the cafe takes shape.