Loveland fitness center to become pie bakery

LOVELAND – Once home to a business that discouraged indulging in sweets, a space at 280 E. 29th St. in Loveland soon will be home to a business that delights in them.

Owners of Me Oh My Pie, a fixture in Laporte since 2012, say they hope by December or January to open a new location in a spot that until the end of August housed a Curves fitness center.

“We’re getting really busy at the Laporte shop and need a bigger space,” said Caitlin Philp, who opened Me Oh My at 3310 W. Larimer County Road 54G in Laporte.

Well, not exactly bigger: The Laporte business operates in 3,000 square feet, while the new Loveland space will be slightly more than two-thirds that size. But it will be used differently.

“We have mostly seating in Laporte,” Philp said. “It works, but it’s not ideal for a bakery. Loveland will be retail — coffee and bakery, not a full restaurant like in Laporte. More like things to take home and warm up for dinner. We’ll utilize the space as a bakery and make most of our products down there.

“The Health Department has always wanted us to have a walk-in (refrigerator), but we didn’t have space for it,” she said. “Now we will.”

After studying at Colorado State University, a couple years in the Peace Corps, working on her master’s degree and taking teaching jobs here and there, she realized her heart was in serving her community in other ways. She remembered that Nancy Brown, owner of Deja Vu in Fort Collins, where Philp worked while in college, told her that “coffee is about community.”

So Philp started Me Oh My while working at Gib’s Bagels in Fort Collins. Her husband, Jason Gaona, who she met while working at the Bellvue Bean, joined her in running Me Oh My full time — a good thing for a mother of two active children.

The bakery uses local ingredients from area small farms whenever possible and, according to its website, “We choose to make pies that use seasonal ingredients because that’s the way they taste best.”

By buying a pie from Me Oh My, the website says, “you are not only supporting Me Oh My, but many other local businesses around town — and what can be better than that?”

Philp and Gaona have been going over architectural, plumbing and electrical plans. “It shouldn’t be too bad. There’s not a lot of HVAC work to do,” Philp said. “We’re at the place of pulling permits now.”

They’re looking forward to deepening their connection with the Loveland community, she said. “We do have a lot of people in Loveland who know about us,” she said, “cyclists who ride up from Loveland to Laporte, and we have a lot of family down there.”

The Laporte cafe will remain open, she said, adding that “we’ll do one more Thanksgiving at the old shop, which is always chaotic.

“But the Loveland shop will act like our mothership. We don’t even have an office in Laporte, so we will in Loveland. But it’ll also be the space where we make most of our products. We’ve already purchased a very big display case.”

The front of the Loveland space won’t just be for picking up to-go orders, Philp said. She plans to add about 15 seats.

“We want people to come in and get coffee and pastries and then take a pie home,” she said. “There’s a yoga place next door, so after yoga maybe they’ll want a chai tea.”

Source: BizWest

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