Forks up, Phoenix! Chow Bella and Roosevelt Row present the fourth annual Pie Social from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, November 16, at the "What Should Go Here" Pop Up Park at Second and Roosevelt streets. We've got an all-star lineup of bakers making pies for you to taste, and from now till Pie Social, we'll introduce them to you, one by one.
Today: Dana Stern of Bragg's Factory Diner.
When she's not singing and playing guitar in her band, JJCnV, Dana Stern is creating fresh-baked vegan pies at Bragg's Factory Diner, which opened in March.
Stern is a self-taught baker who didn't attend culinary school; however, she has been baking as a hobby since she was young and continued throughout her life, mostly sharing food with friends, family, and co-workers on holidays.
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Stern worked in the behavioral health field doing front office work, then at Jobot, before making the jump to co-owner of Bragg's Factory Diner, along with Liam Murtagh and his wife,Emily Spetrino-Murtagh.
The trio had discussed opening a restaurant together and found the perfect location in the old Bragg's Pie Factory building on Grand Avenue.
"One thing led to another, this space became available, and we said that is it, we have to do it," Stern says. "Everything went boom-boom-boom and it all worked out."
Stern bakes traditional pies, such as apple, but also whips up several different flavors including cherry peach basil, apple rosemary and strawberry jalapeno. She aims to have different pies each day at the diner.
"I love to make pie," she says. "I try to do different stuff all the time."
