A local business owner decided to combine two of her shops, creating a one-stop-shop for all things sweet in Port Jefferson.
Lisa Harris, owner of several village shops, recently chose to downsize and put all her bakery goods into one place a few storefronts away.
“In order to make the most of business during these challenging times, we want to use the space to generate more income,” she said. “We decided to combine our pies and donuts into one.”
Her first shop, East Main & Main, opened in June 2017. Known for their extensive menu of fun, creative and over-the-top homemade donuts, the entrepreneur opened up Torte Jeff Pie Co. just a block away on East Main Street in the Village of Port Jefferson two years later.
There, she sells both sweet and savory pies, along with local, small batched grocery items.
“It’s been working really well,” she said. “If we run out of donuts, at least we have other stuff in the shop.”
To try and eliminate the rent, she decided to relocate the donut shop and put all her baked goods into one basket — or store.
For the last month, she moved her donut case into the pie shop, showcasing a few selections just for the weekend.
And everything is made from scratch, around the corner at her third location, Prohibition Kitchen located on Main Street. All the other items for sale come from local merchants.
“We wanted to become more of that one-stop gourmet shop,” she said. “Torte Jeff is a mini gourmet grocery and we want to be as supportive of small businesses as possible.”
For now, the East Main & Main donuts are only available at the pie shop Fridays through Sundays. They offer 10 different varieties and two specials that change every day. She said that if customers come to the store at 10 a.m., the hand-filled donuts are still warm — that’s how fresh they are.
And on top of the homemade pies, donuts and dinners available at
Harris’ businesses, she also just launched a new custom-blended ice cream that incorporates their baked goods, sold in pints.
She said that if the ice cream line takes off, customers can expect more flavors down the road. Currently on the shelves is Billionaire Banana Pudding Ice Cream — homemade vanilla ice cream with the shop’s banana pudding, fudge brownies and caramel.
When asked why people should stop into Torte Jeff, Harris responded with, “Pie not?”
“We’ve been so fortunate during the past year from the community’s support for small business,” she added. “There’s so much love that goes into everything we make, and I think everyone needs a little extra bit love — especially now.”
Torte Jeff Pie Co. is open Thursday and Friday noon to 5 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
