About a week ago I happened to catch a social media post by a dear friend. It was a photo of a delicious looking pie with a light flaky crust and a missing piece. In the post were directions to where one might find such a pie and on what day specifically.

My interest was piqued, because according to my friend, such a pie could be purchased at the local sale barn. How was that a thing? I wondered. Pies could be purchased at the same place where farmers could buy hay and livestock? The idea seemed wild, and so, being curious, the very next Friday afternoon, the only day these pies were served, I took myself out to the sale barn.

I will admit, not being a farmer or having any use for hay or farm implements, I have never been to the area sale barn. I am sure many people have, and so I am just a late-comer to the pie sales at the barn.

I didn’t know what to expect, and part of me wondered if I would have to wade through a muddy livestock pen to get to a food stand of some sort. Turns out, I only needed to avoid a few mud puddles that had filled up that day after a good rain.

Down a long gravel driveway that stretched back behind a ranch home was the actual sale barn. Attached to the barn stood an unassuming white building. The only indication that there was something inside was a door and since I had no idea where I was going, I headed towards it, listening to cows moo in the adjacent building.

Once inside, I was presented with a horseshoe- shaped lunch counter with a narrow walkway through the middle, allowing easy access to the two servers who tended the numerous customers. The small restaurant had a vintage, roadside diner vibe, and while it was still fairly early, not quite five o’clock, already the place was bustling with hungry diners.

The menu was displayed on a board by the lunch counter, and it was clear that they didn’t just serve pie but food as well. On the menu that particular Friday was chicken strips, smothered chops with fries, pulled-pork nachos and walking tacos. They also offered other items like hamburgers, hot dogs and onion rings. The pie menu was on another wall and was lengthy. The varieties included coconut, blueberry, strawberry cream and strawberry with pretzel crust, chocolate cream and cherry. You get the idea. There was a plethora of pie varieties.

The volunteer server at the counter assured me they were all homemade by the restaurant’s cook, Paula Jacobs. She was well-known for her pies, she said, and had only been back to the sale barn restaurant for the last year. The server was quick to tell me that at a recent local fundraiser, two of Jacobs’ donated pies were auctioned off and went for $280 each. The flavor of those pies were triple berry and blueberry.

When Jacobs was able to get away from the grill at the back of the restaurant, we were able to chat about making pies and delicious food at a place where cows are sold.

It seems that the restaurant has been there for years. I was certainly never aware of it, but Jacobs worked there for four years and left in 2020. She only recently decided to come back. Cooking and baking pies isn’t her only job. She has two more, but her record was five jobs at once. She likes to keep busy, she said. One of her current jobs is at Vega’s, but she doesn’t have a favorite.

“I like them all. I get to work with people and I love talking to and meeting people.”

Just then a customer entered and sat down at the counter. Jacobs knew him and knew what flavor of pie he was there for. They had saved him a piece.

The restaurant is open from 3 pm on Fridays to about 9 pm. During the summer, food is served at night, although there is an occasional Saturday sale and food is served in the morning. The prices are reasonable, and the cost for sandwiches averages about $8 or $8.50. A generous slice of pie will set you back $5.

The crust of the pie is probably what sets it apart. It’s light and flaky and immediately reminded me of the pies baked by Mrs. Eilers and sold at Eilers sandwich shop on the corner of Main and East Second streets. Mrs. Eilers’ white, light flaky crust was much beloved and I asked Jacobs where she got her own crust recipe and how long it took her to perfect it.

“I never made a pie until I started making them here,” she said.

Turns out that there wasn’t a need for trial and error. She got the pie crust right the first time. The recipe she got from a friend and isn’t anything special, she said. She uses crisco butter sticks rather than butter or just plain shortening.

She makes about eight to 12 pies a week but they aren’t the only thing Jacobs bakes. She also makes cheesecakes and cakes, but it’s her pies that keep drawing people back to the sale barn restaurant. What’s her secret? There isn’t one, she said.

“She puts love in all of her cooking,” offered one volunteer server.

That’s probably it.