The Canadian Pie Company is coming to Riverdale

Confused by that tantalizing “A Pie to Remember” sign on Queen Street East near Boulton? So were we. It’s there, but doesn’t represent what’s going into the space. Turns out the place changed names when the owner, Cordon Bleu–trained chef Erez Hadad, discovered that the name Canadian Pie Company was available and decided to change the title of his new bakery. “We thought it was a better name.”

The “we” in this case is Hadad—also owner of Café Florentin just down the road—and his pastry chef wife, Keren. “The place is going to be wall-to-wall pies,” says Hadad, who isn’t prepared to give every detail away just yet, “and there will be every kind: fruit pies, cream pies, caramelized custard, quiche and meat pies, as well as other pastries.” He did, however, do a little name dropping: strawberry-rhubarb, peach-raspberry, sweet and sour cherry ($16 for nine-inch pies and $29 for 11-inch pies).

This will be the flagship store for the three-month-old wholesale Pie Company, which is Local Food Plus certified, meaning all ingredients will be locally sourced, and at least 60 per cent will be organic. The small shop is located in a heritage building in Riverside and will be rustic-chic in reclaimed barnboard from the Kitchener-Waterloo area. An old barn door will make an inviting harvest table, and leather easy chairs will surround the fireplace. Hadad promises a light menu of salads, panini and hot meat pies to round out the mostly sweet fare for the projected opening in the second week of January.

As for Café Florentin in the Beach, he tells us, “We closed it because the building was being sold.”

The Canadian Pie Company, 798 Queen St. E., thecanadianpiecompany.com.