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By Rick Rogers

Dee Dee Marcoux doesn¹t mind being called "the pie lady".

It's even on her business cards.

It's something she expected after opening up her own business, The Pie Safe, in Neosho last month with her husband, Brian. "I love being called the pie lady," said Marcoux with a wide smile as she poured batter to make pumpkin muffins in the portion of the basement of her Neosho home that also doubles as her kitchen and workspace. Marcoux's story of how she and her family came to Neosho is an interesting one. Her husband was an engineer and they lived in San Diego with their four children, who range in ages from 9 to 5. He tired of "the rat race," so Marcoux said the family decided it was time for a change. "We packed up, left California a year ago, and traveled around the United States for nine months with our four children and our two dogs," she said. "We traveled from the west to the east, and the north to the south, and God brought us to Neosho. It is a great place to raise a family. We liked the community, and how nice everyone was and how receptive everyone was. It felt like we were coming home. We felt like we were Midwesterners at heart, even though we were both born and raised in California." The Marcoux family moved to Neosho in June of this year, and the idea of opening up a family business came soon after. "I had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, and my husband was an engineer, and we were just trying to figure out what we should do," Marcoux said.

"In San Diego, there was a successful business that strictly did pies, and we looked around and noticed that there was not that here in the Midwest. We prayed about it, and talked about it, and started to try out some recipes on our friends, and it went over like gangbusters." Marcoux said she enjoys bringing back the lost art of homemade baked goods. "Sure, you can go to Wal-Mart or the grocery store and buy a Mrs. Smith pie, or Sara Lee pie, but it is not the same as a truly hand-made pie," she said. Marcoux makes her own crust using no oil, shortening or lard, just butter, and prepares the fruit for the pies. She tries to buy her fruit and products locally. Her menu includes the staples like apple and pecan pies, as well as a hefty choice of cream pies like banana, chocolate, and coconut. She also makes specialty pies like caramel pecan pumpkin pie and peanut butter pie. For a complete menu of pies and prices, see her Web site at neoshopiesafe.com.

Right now, Marcoux is selling her wares out of her home on Lauren Lane, off of Jay Street, in Neosho. She does have bigger dreams for her business. "We are also focusing to get into the wholesale market, and supply restaurants and grocery stores with pies," she said. "So, if someone from Joplin doesn't want to drive to Neosho to pick up their pie, maybe they can talk with their local grocery store and request that they carry our product. We still have four small children at home that we still need to take care of. We would love for someone to go to a grocery store and their restaurant and know that they can have a Pie Safe pie." Right now, customers must pre-order their pies because they are made fresh. Marcoux requests a 48-hour notice before an order is picked up. She said she makes on average 30 pies a day. "We were only open a week before Thanksgiving, and we made 80 pies for Thanksgiving," she said. "Everyone likes pie, and we make every pie ourselves." Cooking is another artistic outlet for Marcoux, who also loves to paint and sew. "I am just a people pleaser, and I know people like to eat," she said. "If they are happy with what I made, and it brings them joy, than I am happy with it. To see someone bite into a pie and say, ŒI my gosh, this is incredible,¹ that is what I live for. That is the whole reason why we did this.

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