The History of Hawaiian Pie Company
We are four generations of bakers and family is the compass that guides us.
Beginnings
In 1979 Grandpa Richard Hori (a.k.a Yasu), Grandma Janet Hori, and our dad, Joel Hori, opened a bakery on Oahu called Holy’s Bakery, Manoa. Located at the intersection of East Manoa Rd. and Lowry Street, this bakery distributed buttery fruit pies and delicious baked treats to neighborhood markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, hotels, and restaurants in Hawaii. When Grandpa and Grandma decided to retire and return to the Big Island of Hawaii, Dad went to work for the Department of Transportation – FAA, and we closed our doors at Holy’s Bakery, Manoa.
Dad and Mom (Jan Hori) remained in Manoa Valley, where they raised us: Matthew, Lindsey, and Andrew. We spent our childhood running around Manoa Valley at Toyo’s Superette and playing basketball every Sunday at Noelani Elementary School. As we grew up, Dad and Grandpa never stopped baking. Random weekends were spent in our kitchen as a family, making pies as gifts for friends and family. We used the knowledge that our Great Grandfather Yoshio passed down to our Grandpa and Dad while experimenting with other unique flavor combinations. As we began to embrace more and more knowledge from our Grandpa and Dad, a fire was ignited within each of us that yearned to carry on our legacy.
Today & Beyond
Why We Do It
We do it for our heroes: our parents and grandparents. They are the people whose hard work and encouragement made today possible. We took lessons from them and built on stories they shared around our dinner table with cups of coffee in hand. Our purpose as the next generation is to perpetuate our parents’, grandparents’, and great-grandparents’ legacies in hopes that they may never fade. We celebrate them daily at the Hawaiian Pie Company, and we hope that our love for them radiates through the products we provide. With every slice, we hope to share our legacy with you.