If you’ve been to The Pie Hole in Vancouver, you know why it’s such a popular spot. Simply put, the pies are amazing. The brainchild of founder Jenell Parsons, The Pie Hole creates flavourful works of art, manifested in sweet and savoury pies and other baked goods. They have grown quickly since opening their first retail location three years ago and have been able to attract customers from across the region and around the globe. With their recognition and accompanying accolades came big industry names, including Guy Fieri, who flew to Vancouver in 2019 to film an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featuring The Pie Hole where he proclaimed “That’s a whole different level of pie… that changed my expectation for pies in general.” While taking his last bites of their famous Raspberry Cream Crumble Pie, he concluded with “…calling this ‘pie’ is like calling the space shuttle an airplane”.
In recent weeks, as businesses across Canada were shutting their doors in response to putting public safety first in support of suppressing the spread of COVID-19, The Pie Hole did what was right and closed its three stores in the Vancouver area. Until management decides it’s safe to reopen, locals will have to forego their beloved pies – but it is a small price to pay to slow the spread of the virus – and everyone has to do their part.
And so, close the doors they did.
But before locking them, there was still one more thing that needed to take place. And true to the spirit of community support that has long been a hallmark of The Pie Hole’s operating philosophy since opening, they decided to make a point of helping others, even as they were preparing for a (hopefully) brief period of no business and tough financial times.
While planning to close the stores, it occurred to The Pie Hole’s owners that they had an abundance of fresh produce, eggs, milk and a significant number of fresh pies.
Chris Kape, director and investor of The Pie Hole and founder and president of early-stage investment and advisory firm JAMCO Capital Partners, as well as a longtime philanthropist, has spent time over the past number of years reaching out to vulnerable families both locally and abroad. His efforts primarily include sourcing and delivering quality food to those in need in partnership with local organizations. He immediately decided to donate the remaining food to those who were at risk and in need of food due to the abrupt loss of access to food banks and other aid programs. With the COVID-19 pandemic creating the need for households to go into quarantine, and families losing incomes and support, it was a no brainer to create food hampers for families facing food shortages.
The next step was to identify the families. Kape contacted Jean Rasmusen, founder and executive director of Canucks Family Education Centre (CFEC), a nonprofit organization that provides a seamless system of quality family literacy and early learning programming for children, youth and adults in Vancouver. Rasmusen immediately reached out to her families and provided him with names of 20 families serviced by CFEC whom she believed had the greatest and most immediate needs.
Eager to help the families, Chris Kape and The Pie Hole’s staff spent a good bit of time packing up perishable and unsold items in their last few hours of operation prior to their temporary closure and then proceeded to load the hampers into the company van.
Then, on March 25, Kape personally drove the food-filled van around Burnaby and Vancouver, making deliveries to each of the 20 families in need. Some met Kape outside with signs of gratitude, some texted, and all waved and expressed genuine thanks as they received their food hampers – all were surprised by the amount of food.
“I enjoyed the experience so much and was so moved by the smiles on everyone’s faces that I immediately planned to do it again the following week,” Chris Kape said.
Although Kape was excited about keeping the momentum going, there was also the looming awareness that such an effort would be required every week or two on a consistent basis. As public restrictions were announced that discouraged personal contact that could potentially lead to someone contracting or spreading the virus, the effort took on a new look. Rather than deliver food directly, Kape pledged a minimum of $1,000 to continue the goodwill project and is now sending a $50 grocery store gift card to each of the families every two weeks. “This will help them put food on their tables until other government programs kick in,” he said.
Chris says he wants to create awareness of The Pie Hole’s efforts in the hope that other restaurant owners, who might also be closing temporarily, will consider doing something similar to help those in need. He also reached out to his network to ask people to consider donating money to the cause or to local food banks. Kape is happy to report that many people have stepped up to the challenge by sending him funds to continue the gift cards and his efforts have now reached more than 100 families, as well as one other restaurant owner who donated all perishable food for Chris to distribute before their temporary closure.
“Every little bit helps,” said Kape. “We’re all in this situation together. I’m glad to do anything I can to bring happiness and positivity to others during such a trying and frustrating time.”
