Original House of Pies is a chain with roots in California. However, for many years, the restaurant has been more closely associated with Houston than with any other city. It was founded in 1965 by Al Lapin Jr., the same man who had created IHOP about 10 years prior. Throughout the 1960s, the chain primarily expanded in Southern California, eventually reaching at least a couple of dozen locations statewide. In April 1970, “OHOP,” as it was sometimes referred to, began a multi-state expansion. The first location outside of California would be in Houston. Franchise rights were offered to entire cities at a time to anyone willing to build at least one restaurant.
The House of Pies of the 1960s and early 70s was not the same as what we know today. First, the chain’s size is estimated to have been approximately 60 units at its peak. Next was the menu, which offered a limited number of rotating dishes (3-5 choices per meal time), with options changing daily. Sometimes a buffet was offered, but this appears to depend on the franchisee’s choice. Additionally, menus were divided into breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and did not overlap. Finally, the hours generally ran from 6 AM-12 AM (2 AM on weekends), but they varied somewhat by location.
Outside of California, locations were all built similarly. A square “cottage” style house was at the front of the building, with a tall, pitched roof and a centered chimney. This part of the restaurant housed the bakery ovens, display cases, and a cashier. The sides of the cottage were made of glass, surrounded by stone and wood. To the right of the entrance was a long, rectangular building attached to the back of the cottage. This formed the dining room and kitchen. The exteriors of these buildings were mostly stuccoed, with an accent arch above the windows and along the blank sides. Some larger locations would have two of these rectangular buildings, usually side by side; the Denver location formed an L-shape.
In the mid-1970s, as the chain reached peak expansion, it became evident that it was performing poorly. Especially when compared to other International Industries companies, such as Orange Julius and IHOP. A decision was made to modify the restaurant to help increase sales. Many updates were made, including changing the menu to a more traditional diner format, similar to IHOP. The hours were also expanded, with most locations becoming 24-hour. Despite all this, the company began to falter. Generally, each city would either continue to operate under a new name/franchise or the locations would be liquidated.
By 1976, the Original House of Pies had been sold to Robert Herndon, the owner of the Houston locations. The company now consisted of the Denver, Omaha, and two Houston locations. They also owned, and continue to own, the rights to the logo, menu, and pies. At this point, other locations continued to operate under the House of Pies name, but independently of the original chain. One of the final locations to close was the restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. Subsequently, we identified the final three locations. Los Angeles and the two in Houston. They differ in their menus but share a common heritage.
Houston:
Houston’s presence started in April 1970 with the Kirby location. It was a company-owned location and was under the direction of “Regional Supervisor” Martin Sprung. International Industries placed a full-page advertisement in the Chronicle to celebrate its new franchisee. The Westheimer location would follow shortly after in August of that same year. Advertisements in other cities indicate that 2 Houston locations were built and that land had been leased for a third, although it was never built. These ads also showed plans to expand to Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio. The locations would come into the possession of International Industries’ subsidiary, Uniworld Foods, at least until 1973. Eventually, the Houston locations were purchased by David A. Herndon, who operated them from 1976 until 1996, when they were sold to the current owners.
Washington:
Two locations were established in small towns near Seattle: one in Bellevue and the other in Lynnwood. Both locations opened with hours of 7 AM-12 AM (2 AM on Weekends), significantly later than most other locations. As an early location, the Seattle stores sold the original menu. The locations would be sold to Jim Davis in 1975, who had worked for the corporation and was possibly the Regional Supervisor. When the stores were sold they had to adopt a new logo and name—changing to “Hi-Quality House of Pies”. The locations seemed to have trouble selling food, changing their menu, and adopting the slogan “We have more than just good pies. These changes led to the renovation of the interior. Under new ownership, the Bellevue location expanded its store to 24 hours, and the Lynnwood location began opening at 6 A.M.
Below is a list of Original House of Pies locations. It is NOT complete. If you have any locations or information to add, please leave it in the comments below.
Address | Notes |
|---|---|
| 3112 Kirby Dr Houston, TX 77098 | 1970-Present First location outside California |
| 6142 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX 77057 | 1970-Present Company Owned, stores had also opened in CO, WA by this point. |
| 6134 Antoine Dr Houston, TX 77091 | 1987-2007? 2nd Generation, Was not 24 hrs Franchised from the Houston location, now a Mexican Restaurant |
| 11311 Fuqua St, Houston, TX 77089 | Former Black Eyed Pea, opened 2017 |
| 444 FM 1960 Houston, TX 77090 | 1992?-1993? 2nd Generation, |
| 1330 Lake Woodlands Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77380 | Opened late 2018 in former Black Eyed Pea |
| <b>Chicago, IL<b> | |
| 800 N Harlem Ave, River Forest, IL 60305 | 1970-1980 Demolished in 1992, approximately where now abandoned bank is. |
| 223 N York St Elmhurst, IL 60126 | 1972-1980? Became Rainbow Restaurant which is still operating, although they moved from original building in 2019. |
| 106 S Northwest Hwy Park Ridge, IL 60068 | 1972-1980 Now The Original Pancake House, Still has the original exterior "house" theming |
| <b>Omaha, NE</b> | |
| 9106 W Center Rd, Omaha, NE 68124 | 1970-1980? Address is Approximate, building was demolished in the early 90s. Picked up by David Herndon in 1975 |
| <b>Denver, CO</b> | |
| 745 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80206 | 1970-? Exterior resembles House of Pies, building split between Chipotle and Cheba Hut. This was the 2nd Chipotle and this location supposedly influenced their open kitchen design. |
| 7052 N Pecos St, Denver, CO 80221 | 1970-? Exterior resembles House of Pies, interior has been remodeled, and many different things including a pawn shop. Now El Canton Cantina. |
| <b>California<b> | |
| 1869 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 | Still Open, The Final CA location Was remodeled after company split, including removal of old logo. |
| 6031 San Vicente Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036 | Still Standing, slightly remodeled exterior, interior completely remodeled. Now Fortune House Chinese Restaurant |
| 385 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128 | Still standing, original exterior repainted. Now Kenji Sushi |
| 14136 Whittier Blvd, Whittier, CA 90605 | Demolished 2012, was somewhat remodeled. Was "Polly's Pies" closed after a fire. |
| 185 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA | Exterior Facade is somewhat changed but retains original OHOP shape. Now a Whalburger |
| 10152 Balboa Blvd Granada Hills, CA 91344 | Open in 1969 Located in the "Hills Shopping Center" most recently "El Queso Grande" a Mexican Restaurant. Completely Remodeled |
| 1756 S Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 | Still standing, operating as part of the "Original Pancake House" chain. |
| 501 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401 | Still standing, most recently a Panera Bread. Was a Polly's Pies for many years. |
| 6565 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028 | Still standing, now a convenience store. The House of Pies logo terrazzo is still in front of the door. This was the second to last California location to close. |
| 805 Fair Oaks Ave, South Pasadena, CA 91030 | Still standing, now "Canoe House" a Hawaiian restaurant, prior to that was Wild Thyme, which served many similar OHOP items, and pies. |
| 10822 Lakewood Blvd, Downey, CA 90241 | Still standing, now Pieloons. Serving a similar menu, with a similar setup. |
| 4105 Atlantic Ave Long Beach, CA 90807 | Demolished early 2000s? |
| 12301 Ventura Blvd Studio City, CA 91604 | Still standing, Coin Connection. Maybe a prototype building? very small |
| <b>Seattle, WA</b> | |
| 1020 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004 | Original building still stands, but it has been highly modified. Closed prior to 1984. |
| 6200 196th St SW Lynnwood, WA 98036 | Demolished Stood Approximately where the Nissan Dealership is today. Closed prior to 1984 |
| 11817 NE 8th St, Bellevue, WA 98005 | Demolished 2008, Stood Approximately where Infiniti Dealership is today. Sold and renamed "High Quality House of Pies" Closed sometime after 1987 |
| 17611 128th Pl Ne Woodinville, WA 98072 | Was the bakery/factory operations for "High Quality House of Pies" until at least 2001. Presumably produced pies for retail sales. |
| <b>Salt Lake City, UT</b> | |
| 1875 E Murray Holladay Rd, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 | Building likely converted to Honey Baked Hams. Cottage was removed, but other indications windows, brick type, and missing facade) |
| 1701 S State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84115 | Building still standing, exterior slightly modified, and interior completely remodeled. Now a Title Loan place. |
| 1020 E 2100 S South Salt Lake, UT 84106 | Sat between two modern shopping centers. Demolished in 2005. |
| 1915 4800 S, Murray, UT 84123 | Unsure status of building. Unable to find exact location |
| <b>Portland, OR</b> | |
| 10502 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97216 | Likely stood approximately where Jack in the Box is today |
| <b>Iowa</b> | |
| 217 Welch Ave Ames, IA 50014 | Demolished, stood where apartment building is today. 1971 |
| 6206 Douglas Ave, Des Moines, IA 50322 | Still standing, heavily remodeled and expanded. Used Cars sales, now Islamic Center |
| <b>Pheonix</b> | |
| 4242 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85012 | Demolished |
Someone commented there was House of Pies in Glendale Supposedly on Glendale Ave between Broadway and Wilson)at the soe said it was 132 N Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA, 91206 Became a Chinese restaurant then Bear Pit BBQ Demolished and now a Chipolte, Can you verify and add to you list is so
Regarding that 1960 location…
My high school gang ate there a lot during the late ’80s, so the ’92-’93 date above is around when it outright closed due to road expansion. A ton of businesses along that drag vanished to accommodate for widening the 1960 roadway.
There were two OHOP’s on El Cajon Blvd, (2611), at the West end of EL Cajon Blvd and another in the College area at 6374 El Cajon Blvd and Art St. The building has been severely modified as it’s no longer recognizable as a former OHOP, currently next to a strip mall, a former site of a U Totem connivence store (we use to buy beer there). I worked at both locations, starting out as a busboy when I was in high school (1971) and l later on worked at the college location during the summer, graveyard shift, when they first went to 24 hours.
I believe there was also a OHOP in the 7100 block of Sunset Blvd in Hollywood (CA). And I also believe it became the first Famous Amos cookie location (7181 Sunset Blvd).
My Dad bought two House Of Pies in the late 1970s that were going out of business in Downey and Newport Beach, California. He renamed them “The Pieloon”. He resold them by 1980. The Downey location at 10822 Lakewood Blvd, Downey, CA 90241 is still open as a Pieloon, and you can still see the basic House of Pies architecture. The Newport Beach location at 3112 Newport Blvd has been probably 6 or 7 different restaurants over the years. The footprint of the building is the same but the whole structure has been rebuild.
There is a former House of Pies in San Diego in the the North Park neighborhood at 2611 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92104 called THE VILLAGE and you can still totally see the House of Pies architecture on it.
See https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/cachains.html for more old House of Pies in California.
There was a House of Pies on the Southwest Freeway (southbound service road away from downtown) just south of Bissonnet St. back in the late 1980s and possibly early 1990s. I ate there once back in December 1989. I could be wrong but from what I can remember, I believe the address to be 9882 Southwest Freeway. I don’t believe it lasted at this location for very long. As of 2022 the building is still there but is vacant. Can anyone else verify this location?
Rob,
Yes at one point that was a franchised House of Pies, that operated under the purview of our locations. The owner at the time had I think about 3 franchisees over the years open HOP locations in various buildings around town.
Thanks for the confirmation on this location, Mike. Do you recall the exact years that this location was open?
I don’t have the exact years in front of me, but 90s is the approximate decade. I plan on adding this and the other franchise locations to the one once I’ve researched more in them, including the newer stores.
Please add 25686 Northwest Freeway Cypress, TX 77429 to your list of House of Pie’s locations. It was originally built as an On The Border Tex-Mex location.
It had been over six months since I have notified you of the then new Cypress location. I guess that you have not have time to verify the existence of the location. It was originally built as an On The Border Mexican Restaurant. It was then remodeled to accommodate the entrance of the PDQ Chicken Restaurant chain when the entered the Greater Houston Area. It then became a House of Pies opening in late 2021 or early 2022.
Was there one in Panorama City California????
Unfortunately I’m not sure. I know locations were most numerous in California, and seeing as it’s a suburb of LA it seems likely there was a location there, or nearby.
There was a House of Pies on Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia, CA. It was demolished quite a while ago.
The Houston location on Kerbey Lane was informally referred to as “House of Guys” when I was attending Rice University, 1977 to 1987. It was a favorite destination for campus folk when pulling all-nighters.
In Oct. O’ 1987, a group o’ us, drivin’ in 3 cars from Little Rock AR, were headed for The Texas Ren Fair in Magnolia. We stopped at the Kirby location HoP at 4 am and stopped to eat the best food I had ever had!! Had an amaxon’ breakfast and we Includied a Pie! I were overjoyed! I wish I had images from back then! I would soo love to have a pic o’ the buildin’ and inside from 1987.
Our drive back to LR on the Sunday after had us drivin’ directly into the path o’ a tornado! As we drove to get around the storm, we avoided a very low, flooded, railroad bridge that a tractor trailer lorrie got stuck under. We detoured on a road that took us into Louisiana then back into Texas as we made our way north.right bloody scary but the Best adventure ever! I long for a meal and a pie from HoP right now…some 36 years later!
Almost 60 now but I can remember getting treated to hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream on my dads pay day in lynnwood Wa thanks for the memories
Are all the stores closed now my brother was just telling me about how him and his wife use to go to the one in Denver all the time in the 70-80’s sometime in there
There is one operating in Los Angeles and multiple in Houston (two of which are in original buildings).
Long shot request.
Do you know where I can find a clear copy of the original House of Pies Logo like on your article here https://houstonhistoricretail.com/restaurants/original-house-of-pies/ you can see it above the counter at quite an angle…. Can’t find one on their House of Pie website. Are there any other Houston Archives I should be looking at? Old Ads? Newspaper clippings? Thanks.
You might be able to find an old menu, or some other clipping with the logo in the Houston Metropolitan Research Center once they reopen. If you’re willing to spend a couple of bucks, you can always buy an old matchbook off eBay and scan it.
Hopefully you already found it, but if not… https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/The-Original-House-of-Pies-Logo-from-the-1980s-Slightly-Distressed-by-StrangeNotions/95927140.LVTDI