Original House of Pies

Original House of Pies is a chain with roots in California. However, for many years the restaurant has been more connected to Houston than 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 expanded mostly within Southern California eventually making it to at least to a couple dozen locations within the state. 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 being offered entire cities at a time, for essentially anyone willing to build at least one restaurant.

The “cottage” at the front of the restaurant was a common feature to most House of Pies Locations

The House of Pies of the 1960s and early 70s was not what we know today. First there was the chain’s size, which is estimated to have been around 60 units at is peak. Next was the menu, which served a very limited number of rotating dishes (3-5 choices per meal) with options changing daily. Sometimes a buffet component was used, but this seems to be dependent on the franchisee opting for it. As well, menus were split into breakfast, lunch, and dinner and did not overlap. Finally, the hours which generally ran from 6AM-12AM (2AM on weekends) but did vary somewhat by location.

Outside of California, locations were all built in a similar manner. A square “cottage” style house was at the front of the building. With a tall, pitched roof, and centered chimney. This part of the restaurant held the ovens for the bakery, display cases, and 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 which was 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 added above windows, and along blank sides. Some larger locations would have two of these rectangular buildings usually side by side, however the Denver location formed an L-shape.

That orange sign, is the original logo and script for House of Pies.

In the mid 1970s as the chain reached peak expansion it became evident that it was not doing well. 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, such as changing the menu setup to a more traditional diner menu similar to IHOP. The hours were also expanded with most locations becoming 24 hours. 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 as a company had been sold to owner of the Houston locations, Robert Herndon. 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 did continue to operate using the House of Pies name, but did so independently of the original chain. One of the final locations to close was the prominently located Hollywood Boulevard restaurant. After this we ended up with the final three locations. Los Angeles, and the two in Houston. They differ in menu, but maintain a shared 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 took out a full page ad in the chronicle to celebrate their new franchisee. The Westheimer location would follow shortly after in August of that same year. Advertisements in other cities reference that 2 Houston locations were built, and 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 end up in possession of  International Industries subsidiary, Uniworld Foods at least until 1973. Eventually changing hands Houston’s locations would be purchased by David A. Herndon, who would in turn operate them from 1976 up until 1996, when they were sold to the current owners.

Washington:
Two locations were built in small towns around Seattle, one in Bellevue the other in Lynnwood. Both locations opened with hours of 7 AM-12 AM (2 AM on Weekends), quite a bit later than most other locations. Being an early location the Seattle stores did sell the original menu. The locations would be sold to Jim Davis in 1975 who had worked for the corporate, 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 their 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 770981970-Present First location outside California
6142 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX 770571970-Present Company Owned, stores had also opened in CO, WA by this point.
6134 Antoine Dr Houston, TX 770911987-2007? 2nd Generation, Was not 24 hrs Franchised from the Houston location, now a Mexican Restaurant
11311 Fuqua St, Houston, TX 77089Former Black Eyed Pea, opened 2017
444 FM 1960 Houston, TX 770901992?-1993? 2nd Generation,
1330 Lake Woodlands Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77380Opened late 2018 in former Black Eyed Pea
<b>Chicago, IL<b>
800 N Harlem Ave, River Forest, IL 603051970-1980 Demolished in 1992, approximately where now abandoned bank is.
223 N York St Elmhurst, IL 601261972-1980? Became Rainbow Restaurant which is still operating, although they moved from original building in 2019.
106 S Northwest Hwy Park Ridge, IL 600681972-1980 Now The Original Pancake House, Still has the original exterior "house" theming
<b>Omaha, NE</b>
9106 W Center Rd, Omaha, NE 681241970-1980? Address is Approximate, building was demolished in the early 90s.
<b>Denver, CO</b>
745 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 802061970-? 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 802211970-? 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 90027Still Open, The Final CA location Was remodeled after company split, including removal of old logo.
6031 San Vicente Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036Still Standing, slightly remodeled exterior, interior completely remodeled. Now Fortune House Chinese Restaurant
385 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128Still standing, original exterior repainted. Now Kenji Sushi
14136 Whittier Blvd, Whittier, CA 90605Demolished 2012, was somewhat remodeled. Was "Polly's Pies" closed after a fire.
185 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CAExterior Facade is somewhat changed but retains original OHOP shape. Now a Whalburger
10152 Balboa Blvd Granada Hills, CA 91344Open 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 90277Still standing, operating as part of the "Original Pancake House" chain.
501 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401Still standing, most recently a Panera Bread. Was a Polly's Pies for many years.
6565 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028Still 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 91030Still 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 90241Still standing, now Pieloons. Serving a similar menu, with a similar setup.
4105 Atlantic Ave Long Beach, CA 90807Demolished early 2000s?
12301 Ventura Blvd Studio City, CA 91604Still standing, Coin Connection. Maybe a prototype building? very small
<b>Seattle, WA</b>
1020 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004Original building still stands, but it has been highly modified. Closed prior to 1984.
6200 196th St SW Lynnwood, WA 98036Demolished Stood Approximately where the Nissan Dealership is today. Closed prior to 1984
11817 NE 8th St, Bellevue, WA 98005Demolished 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 98072Was 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 84117Building 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 84115Building still standing, exterior slightly modified, and interior completely remodeled. Now a Title Loan place.
1020 E 2100 S South Salt Lake, UT 84106Sat between two modern shopping centers. Demolished in 2005.
1915 4800 S, Murray, UT 84123Unsure status of building. Unable to find exact location
<b>Portland, OR</b>
10502 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97216Likely stood approximately where Jack in the Box is today
<b>Iowa</b>
217 Welch Ave Ames, IA 50014Demolished, stood where apartment building is today. 1971
6206 Douglas Ave, Des Moines, IA 50322Still standing, heavily remodeled and expanded. Used Cars sales, now Islamic Center
<b>Pheonix</b>
4242 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85012Demolished

20 comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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).

  3. 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.

  4. 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?

    1. 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.

      1. Thanks for the confirmation on this location, Mike. Do you recall the exact years that this location was open?

        1. 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.

  5. 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.

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

  6. There was a House of Pies on Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia, CA. It was demolished quite a while ago.

  7. 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.

    1. 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!

  8. 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

  9. 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

    1. There is one operating in Los Angeles and multiple in Houston (two of which are in original buildings).

    1. 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.

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