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Sarah Marshall Dr. Kristi Maxwell ENG 255 REVISION May 2, 2014

An Eye for Pie By Sarah Marshall

Although inconspicuous in the scramble of

cars on Kingston Pike, the diminutive

Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop packs a mouthful of

a name; even more savory are the

confectionary creations packed inside. My

first sighting of this steel gray garage-sized property with the oversized sign

occurred October of 2013. Simultaneously structured and whimsical, I knew

the mind behind such a place was anything but “vanilla.”

Like the shop, Meredith Layton, the owner, has a presence that consists of a

conglomeration of flavors. Called “creative” and “a visionary” by Morgan

Hickman, the pie shop manager. She ought to be described using her favorite

combination: “it’s fabulous: chocolate with caramel, banana, and pecans”, she

says of her carefully customized ice cream treat.

She was most famous to me as the wife in the husband-wife duo behind the

Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop; however, I quickly learned that she is—and should

be—known for so much more. This confectionary queen is also one of the

masterminds behind The Cup, Knoxville’s first cupcake shop.

Tucked in a booth in the back corner of the Panera, I nearly missed catching

Layton’s attention. Balancing two off-white cardboard boxes, she scanned the

Marshall 2 room looking for her mystery interviewer. Shaking her hand, it immediately

struck me how her appearance did not shout “Knoxville entrepreneur

extraordinaire.”

Maybe I was expecting her to arrive in an apron or wearing oven mitts, but

instead, she looked the picture of normal. Rather than baking attire, she sported

softly curled hair, shades deeper than the color of the coffee that admittedly

runs in her veins, tan skin with gold undertones that contrasted her silver

jewelry that adorned her wrists and neckline, and dark, wide-set, interested eyes

that contributed more to her speaking than her words themselves.

Recognizing that she was searching for me, I met her by the door. Her fingers

hugged the sharp corners of the boxes. Gently, she extended one towards me

and explained it was a cupcake while also apologizing in case I was expecting

a pie. With her motherly qualities: the unforeseen gift and the apologetic

comment, it was already showing that Layton is more than just a woman with

a propensity for sweets.

Her Volunteer orange V-neck was an appropriate color for the newly spring

day, but it also nodded to her love of Knoxville that has only grown in her 13

year residency. As she has grown to call this place home, the Scruffy City has

welcomed her as a member of the family.

Layton recognizes and appreciates the way Knoxville supports local business.

“For us, we sorta developed a name for ourselves in the cupcake industry. Then

people followed us as we branched off into pies,” she says of her local fan base.

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This reaction was not guaranteed eight years ago. With a master’s degree in

speech pathology, Layton worked in the field for 11 years. Her husband, Scott,

was an architectural engineer. Although neither of them had any prior

experience with owning a business, when Layton’s sister opened a cupcake

shop in St. Louis, “that’s a business that would go here,” Layton thought. After

this initial inspiration, the timeline moved quickly.

“I talked to Scott over Thanksgiving with my sister, and, in March, our first

store opened out in Oak Ridge.” By June of that year, another location opened

in Bearden. The success of the Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop progressed with

similar speed.

The first pie shop opened on November 1, and with pie season so closely tied to

Thanksgiving, the first month was a whirlwind for the couple.

The Layton couple posed inside their first pie shop.

Located in Bearden, the original pie shop.

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“The truck would come and we’d bake all of the ingredients until they were

gone and then just have to shut the doors,” Layton divulges.

Although she’s the owner, Layton was just as involved with the hands-on

activities during the short-staffed days of just four employees.

“I’ve helped her completely unload her Yukon…full to the brim of things that

needed to come in [to the restaurant],” Hickman recalls of some of their more

inventive ways of keeping up with the shop’s demand.

Successful they were, but clearly the process of Layton’s budding

entrepreneurship has not always been simple.

“We’ve had a lot of hard knocks,” she admits. Although an avid taker of

“calculated risks,” she says, “We’ve had some great gains and some hard

losses.”

To Layton, a lot of these losses have to do with family time. As a mother whose

ideal day would consist of picking up her boys from school: “Those 16 and 17

hour days were rough, but we knew we would have to, and could, do it for a

short time period.” Six weeks later, “we saw the hard work pay off really

quickly.”

Now Layton is able to enjoy the perks of being a small business owner: “I still

have to put the work in, and I work long hours, but [the hours] are worked

around my family. I get to prioritize… We have to take time away for our

family as well.”

Layton believes her boys, 11 and 16, have learned valuable lessons as they’ve

observed their parents’ tendency to “stay curious”. When they would younger,

Marshall 5 “they came with us a lot, Layton says. “We had a TV set up in the back, and

they had their homework room. We brought snacks.”

After revealing that one Valentine’s Day, the boys slept in sleeping bags in the

cupcake shop: “the kids have put in their hours,” she laughs.

“Any small business like that, when you do it with a family, everybody is on

board. Whether you like it or not,” she declares.

As a result, “I think my kids learned a lot and I’m proud of it. They’ve learned

a hard work ethic. They see that we’ve had to work and they see how it’s been

paying off. I think that’s probably one of the best lessons we could teach them

is watching us and showing them there are sacrifices we’ve had to make. And

they understand the in’s and out’s of our business.”

Business: this is what motivated Layton to open her stores. Although a self-

proclaimed follower of dessert trends, she enjoys the business aspects of

entrepreneurship the most.

“If I see a unique opportunity, then that’s what interests me more than just the

passion for baking; although, we do love baked goods.” However, “I am not so

much the baker.” In her hometown of Memphis, “We grew up baking a lot...My

sister baked a lot while I cooked a lot. I never had any interest in that as a

profession at all.”

Recognized by her pie shop staff as a “creative” and “great at seeing the big

picture”. It is evident that Layton is passionate about what she does.

“It’s my work but it doesn’t feel like work,” she proclaims. Even when her

creative concepts for her pie shop were somewhat lost in the minds of the

employees, with careful confidence, she would reassuringly support her vision

saying, “I just know how I need it”, Morgan affectionately recalls of Layton.

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Layton’s keen ability to come up with concepts has given her the unofficial

position as the marketing mogul of her businesses. When phones ring seeking

sponsorship, pictures, or news, Layton is the voice of wisdom on the other end.

“I love partnering with different people in the community… Those

opportunities for me create a great day.”

Her ability to communicate well with others may stem from her past in speech

pathology; however, it can also be attributed to her heart—warmer than the

center of a freshly baked lemon tart and larger than their 9-inch crusts. As a

Christian, “faith is extremely important to me”, Layton says. This can be seen

in these various ways she shows love for those who support her business.

Recognized as “good with the little things…especially with customers”, Layton

often thinks to ask whether or not an individual would like his or her box

wrapped.

“To customers, that’s something they really enjoy”, according to Hickman; I

also really enjoyed the surprise cupcake Layton gifted me before she was

interviewed. However, this sugary sweet woman also has a silly side.

“Life is way too dramatic. I need a release, and it’s usually comedy”, Layton

admits. On long car rides, she’ll tickle her ears with stand-up segments featured

on satellite radio. However, when watching TV, her preferred viewing is of

competition series. The Voice and Face-Off easily capture her attention;

although, she ironically avoids watching cupcake competitions and shows.

Marshall 7 These two facets of Layton can be seen in her incorporation of “Crusty” into

one of her stores. Crusty is a stuffed armadillo that is located at the pie shop

located in Bearden. An old white elephant gift passed along every year, “Scott

got it one year and hid it,” Layton confesses with a smile. Now it serves as a

kind of mascot for the store.

“As we build the franchise, Crusty will move from store to store based on [the

winner of] sales of that month.”

It’s these signature touches that create the “homey” feel Layton desires for her

stores. It also helps that all of her recipes are originals from the Layton’s

childhood memories. Living on an orchard, Scott was raised canning and

preserving fruit; whereas “my nanny was known in Memphis for her pies:

pecan, chocolate meringue, caramel, and coconut,” Layton shares. “He does the

fruit pies, and I do the cream pies.”   “We follow every dessert trend,” she

Along with other family photos, Layton’s Nanny is pictured bottom center.

Marshall 8 admits. Her next ideal venture—donuts—likely won’t be a Knoxville

exclusive. Instead, she foresees her life developing a slower pace after the next

ten years.

A final move to Edisto Island, South Carolina, is Layton’s dream: “When our

youngest is gone [to college], we should be well on our way of hanging out at

the beach and running our bakery down there.” Then, with years of running a

franchise under her belt, Layton might always have her perfect day.

“If I can start without having to run, then that’s always a start to a good day.”

Dreaming of a future with beachside porches and frequent salmon and wine

meals at sunset, Layton acknowledges that she will have to stay busy for the

next few years to foster her fantasy. After five years of “building, building,

building”, maybe Layton will be able to start every day with coffee and quiet,

and, of course, end it with dessert.

“That would be awesome,” Layton meditates.

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