What’s more American than apple pie? Not much, the old phrase would have you believe. But regardless of whether your choice is apple, cherry, or some rare pie-in-the-sky you could easily find cooling on a your grandmother’s window sill, you’ll be having a slice of a great American tradition. Here, we have five Knoxville bakeries showing off their sweetest, flakiest offerings to make your dessert choice as easy as, well, pie.
Magpies Bakery
“All Butter All The Time!” It’s a fitting slogan for Magpies, reflecting the decadent goodness in their locally-sourced, from-scratch baked goods available at the shop in Happy Holler. Owner Elizabeth Smith and baker Peg Hambright create some delectable pies, like the apple, cherry, and pecan offerings you see here.
846 N. Central St., Knoxville TN 37917
(865) 673-0471
magpiescakes.com
Monday and Saturday 10-4
Tuesday – Friday 10-5:30
Sunday Closed
Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop
Just down the road in Bearden is the original Buttermilk Sky, where you can find the iconic 1-40: an extremely indulgent homage to southern pecan pie, featuring toasted coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips on top of a traditional filling, wrapped in a shortbread crust. Owners Meredith and Scott Layton put the focus on making human connections when they talk about their passion. For them, “pie is representative of home.”
5400 Kingston Pike
(865) 330-3694
buttermilkskypie.com
Monday – Thursday 8:30-7
Friday and Saturday 8:30-8:00
Sunday Closed
Litton’s Restaurant, Market, and Bakery
Fountain City icon Litton’s was founded in 1946 as a gas station. Since then, it has grown into a full-service restaurant with attached bakery. In addition to the pecan and key lime pies pictured here, bakery manager Lynda Jones offers a stunning chocolate chess pie and some wonderful bran muffins that, rumor has it, are made from a recipe first found in the Fountain City Methodist cook book 50 years back.
2803 Essary Road
(865) 688-0429
littonsdirecttoyou.com
Monday – Thursday 11-8:30
Friday – Saturday 11-9:30
Sunday Closed
Rita’s Bakery
Yes, there really is a Rita! Most of the recipes in the family-owned shop come from the kitchen of Rita Patterson, mother of co-owners and siblings Monica and Michael Patterson. A wide range of cookies, cakes, pies, and pastries are available in the Fountain City shop. Pictured here are the delectable German Chocolate Pecan Pie and an almost impossibly smooth Key Lime Mousse.
3023 Tazwell Pike
(865) 688-5484
ritasbakery.net
Tuesday – Friday 8-6
Saturday 8-2
Sunday and Monday Closed
VG’s Bakery
You can find a full line of baked goods, from breads to pastries at the Farragut bakery—made by head baker VG! The shop has been going strong for 19 years now. We tried their deep dish Chocolate Cream and Creamy Pumpkin pies. Also creeping into the picture are VG’s lovely little pies, personal versions of their classics. If you see their stall at one of the area farmer’s markets, do not miss a taste of the Kolache, a mouth-watering stuffed savory pastry. You will not regret it.
11552 Kingston Pike
(865) 671-8077
vgsbakery.com
Monday 10-4
Tuesday – Friday 10-6
Saturday 8-2
Sunday Closed