Strawberry rhubarb pie has the perfect personality: sweet enough to make you smile, tart enough to keep you thinking about the next bite.
At a bakery known for doing it right, that bright filling and flaky crust can turn dessert into the kind of craving that follows you home in Kansas. This is not just a slice you eat and forget.
It has that old-fashioned bakery magic, where fruit bubbles into something glossy, the crust breaks just right under the fork, and the balance of flavors feels like summer showing off.
One bite can make coffee taste better, conversation pause, and future dessert plans feel already decided.
I would tell myself I was only stopping for one slice, then spend the rest of the week wondering why I did not bring home a whole pie.
The Strawberry Rhubarb Pie That Started It All
There are pies, and then there are pies that rearrange your priorities.
The strawberry rhubarb at The Upper Crust Pie Bakery is the kind of dessert that makes you rethink every mediocre slice you have ever eaten.
The balance of sweet strawberry and tart rhubarb is spot-on, never cloying and never too sharp.
The crust is flaky, buttery, and baked to a deep golden color that practically begs you to take a bite before you even sit down.
Road trippers have reportedly planned their entire routes through Kansas just to grab a slice during open hours. That is not an exaggeration.
The filling stays jammy without turning soupy, which is honestly a technical achievement worth celebrating.
If you only try one thing at this bakery, the strawberry rhubarb is the obvious answer. Just make sure you order early because it tends to sell out fast.
A Bakery With Real History Behind It
The Upper Crust has been making pies since 2005, when sisters Jan Knobel and Elaine VanBuskirk started the business with help from their mom, Pie Master Pat Nuss.
After debuting at the Overland Park Farmers’ Market and spending time as a weekend bakery inside Pryde’s Old Westport, the bakery moved into its current Santa Fe Drive location in 2011.
The bakery is located at 7943 Santa Fe Dr, Overland Park, KS 66204, right in the heart of the charming downtown Overland Park area.
Street parking is available, and the shop itself is on the smaller side, which only adds to its cozy, neighborhood-bakery personality.
Kansas has no shortage of great food spots, but a locally rooted pie shop with two decades of craft behind it is genuinely rare.
This place has earned its reputation one buttery crust at a time, and the community clearly agrees.
Cutie Pies Are A Road Trip Game-Changer
Mini pies, or cutie pies as they are called here, are one of the best things to come out of this bakery and that is saying a lot given the competition.
These perfectly portioned little pies are ideal for eating in the car, sharing with someone who cannot commit to a whole slice, or simply refusing to share at all. No judgment.
I once packed a road trip snack bag thinking granola bars would cut it.
Cutie pies from a place like this would have been a dramatically better call. They come in multiple flavors and are sized just right for a satisfying treat without the guilt spiral of finishing an entire full pie alone.
The bumbleberry cutie pie in particular has fans who plan entire visits around it. Compact, flavorful, and road-trip approved, these little guys punch well above their weight class.
The Crust Situation Is Genuinely Impressive
Good pie filling can carry a mediocre crust for only so long before the whole thing falls apart, literally.
At The Upper Crust Pie Bakery, the crust is not an afterthought. It is the main event that happens to bring excellent filling along for the ride.
Described repeatedly as buttery, flaky, and perfectly baked, the crust on the fruit pies especially has a texture that manages to be crisp on the outside while staying tender underneath.
That balance is harder to achieve than most home bakers realize, and it takes real skill to nail it consistently batch after batch.
The shortbread cookies at the bakery follow the same philosophy, thick and buttery with a simplicity that highlights quality ingredients over flashy additions.
When a bakery gets its foundation right, everything built on top of it just tastes better. This one clearly gets it.
The Flavor Lineup Goes Way Beyond Basic
Pecan pie, key lime, blueberry buttermilk, German chocolate, sour cream apple, brown sugar buttermilk, bumbleberry, coconut custard, and oatmeal pie are just a sampling of what has shown up at The Upper Crust Pie Bakery over time.
The rotating and seasonal variety means there is almost always something new to try alongside the classics.
The oatmeal pie is a sleeper hit that converts even people who claim to dislike oatmeal, which is a small miracle in itself.
The German chocolate pie brings coconut and pecan texture to the filling in a way that feels more dessert-forward than a typical chocolate slice.
Kansas does not always get credit for its food scene, but a bakery with this kind of imaginative range earns that credit effortlessly.
Pie flights, which allow you to sample multiple flavors at once, have been offered periodically and require advance online ordering. Absolutely worth planning ahead for.
Cookies That Deserve Their Own Fan Club
Pies might be the headliner here, but the cookies are the kind of supporting act that occasionally steals the whole show.
Thick, soft, and baked with the same care that goes into the pies, these cookies have developed a loyal following among regulars who sometimes stop in just for them.
The banana nut cookies with butter icing have been described as genuinely addictive, which tracks given how often they come up in conversation about the bakery.
The shortbread is simple, thick, and buttery in a way that makes you appreciate restraint as a baking philosophy.
Snickerdoodle cookies, molasses cookies, and gooey caramel bars have also made appearances on the menu, giving sweet-toothed visitors plenty of reasons to keep coming back.
Pairing one with a cutie pie is, frankly, a power move. The cookie game at this bakery is strong enough to stand entirely on its own merits.
Quiche Is On The Menu And It Is Seriously Good
Savory fans, this one is for you. The Upper Crust Pie Bakery is not exclusively in the dessert business, and the quiche on offer proves that the same crust skill that makes the sweet pies shine translates beautifully to savory territory too.
The bacon and corn quiche has been called incredibly good by visitors who did not even come in expecting to order something savory.
That is the mark of a dish that earns its place on the menu rather than just filling a gap.
The crust stays crisp, the filling is rich, and the whole thing feels more like something from a French countryside kitchen than a Kansas strip-mall bakery.
For anyone who shows up with a group split between sweet and savory preferences, the quiche solves the problem elegantly.
It is a genuinely underrated reason to visit, and ordering it alongside a slice of pie makes for a very satisfying afternoon.
The Gift Shop Adds A Whole Extra Layer Of Charm
Not every pie shop doubles as a gift destination, but The Upper Crust Pie Bakery pulls it off with genuine style.
Beyond the baked goods, the shop carries ceramic pieces, aprons, tea towels, pot holders, and other thoughtful items that make it a genuinely fun place to browse even before you get to the food.
Walking in and being hit with the smell of butter and sugar while surrounded by charming kitchen goods is an experience that feels curated without feeling forced.
It has the kind of warmth that makes you want to linger longer than you planned, which is probably exactly what the bakery intended.
Picking up a pie for someone alongside a cute ceramic piece or a tea towel turns a simple dessert run into a full gift.
For anyone in Kansas looking for a spot that combines great food with a genuinely pleasant shopping experience, this bakery checks both boxes without breaking a sweat.
Hours Are Limited So Planning Ahead Pays Off
One thing to know before making the trip: The Upper Crust Pie Bakery keeps a focused schedule that rewards planners and catches the unprepared off guard.
The bakery is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM. Monday, Tuesday, and Sunday are closed.
That shorter window is part of what makes a visit feel a little special. There is something satisfying about carving out time for a specific destination rather than just stumbling in whenever.
It also explains why popular flavors like the strawberry rhubarb can sell out before the afternoon crowd even arrives.
Showing up earlier in the day when the cases are freshly stocked is a strategy that tends to pay off deliciously well.
A Strong Reputation That Actually Means Something
A strong reputation among pie lovers is the kind of thing that takes years of consistent effort to build.
For The Upper Crust Pie Bakery, that reputation reflects a bakery that has quietly built something genuinely beloved in the Overland Park community without relying on gimmicks or social media hype.
Flavors like cherry, blueberry, key lime, and bumbleberry come up again and again as standout favorites, and the bakery’s rotating menu means each visit can feel a little different.
The bumbleberry, for the curious, is a blend of multiple berries baked together into something that is greater than the sum of its parts.
For a small Kansas pie shop with limited hours and street parking, the loyalty this place commands is remarkable.
The Upper Crust Pie Bakery has figured out something that bigger operations often miss: when the pie is this good, everything else takes care of itself.