Shore to Shore: The Ugly Pie Serves Up Tradition for America’s 250th

SALISBURY, Md. — As families gather to celebrate America’s 250th birthday today, one local shop is serving up a slice of tradition in the newest edition of Shore to Shore.

What’s an American celebration without pie? The Ugly Pie is celebrating America’s 250th birthday by baking patriotic pies and sharing hometown pride.

The Salisbury pie shop is making sure celebrations end on a sweet note, but the baking process starts long before the crust is prepared.

The Ugly Pie owner Shaina Daly said, “Me and two of my friends, we were having a rough time at our old job, so we decided we wanted to do something for ourselves. We were looking for something that Salisbury didn’t have.”

A quick stop at another local business helped seal the deal.

“We decided after actually going to the Pemberton Coffee House and having a nice glass of wine that we were going to do a pie shop. We came up with the name Ugly Pie,” Daly said.

Twelve years later, the pies aren’t the only thing that’s grown.

“We went from, like, five flavors to well over 100. We went from 30 full-size pies our first Thanksgiving to almost 900 this past Thanksgiving,” Daly said.

The shop is always looking to experiment with new fillings and flavors. “We got Not So German Chocolate Cheesecake. We have Pineapple Right Side Up, and it’s a lot of fun coming up with new flavors,” Daly said. “There’s traditional Eastern Shore ones. We got Crabby, Corn Custard, Strawberry Pretzel — all the fun stuff.”

The shop also offers pot pies, savory pies, sweet pies, cheesecakes and quiches, all while focusing on keeping everything locally made.

“We still try to call back to our beginnings, and everything we do is still handmade. Still from scratch. Apples are still peeled by hand — all that good stuff,” Daly said.

Because everything is made from scratch, the possibilities are nearly endless. Customers feeling adventurous can even create their own flavor combinations with a preorder.

“Somebody just ordered coconut peach last week. We’re actually here for you. We love thinking up stuff. We love to feed people and if you just like a little taste of something, we do also sell pie by the slice,” Daly said.

The Ugly Pie is located at 829 E William St, Salisbury MD 21804