You may know that “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks,” but did you know it’s also the place with the holiday pies?
Apparently Ace Hardware has added a unique treat to its holiday offerings in recent years — take-and-bake frozen pies for $20.
This trend started a few years back at a single Ace Hardware location in Northern California, and the pies sold so well that the company decided to sell them at many other locations, including the one in Long Beach at 6441 Spring St.
Ace sells the treats in partnership with The Pie Company, which is located in the Central Valley community of Ripon. The company started making pies in 2008.
It’s unclear who exactly came up with the idea of pairing pies and hardware, but they did — and the unique pairing has had a measurable impact on the bottom line for many mom-and-pop hardware stores.
I spoke to the owner of our local Ace Hardware, Rindy Francia, who credited her husband Glen for adding the pies to their store’s vast inventory of non-traditional items. The duo often share lunch in the back room of the large store with neon signs and discuss items vendors are offering.
A sampling of frozen pies for sale at Long Beach’s Spring Street Ace Hardware store. (Photo by Jo Murray).
Ace Hardware, on Spring Street in Long Beach, has a unique offer this holiday season — frozen pies. (Photo by Jo Murray).
The Ace Hardware on Spring Street has plenty of unique offerings, including these matchbox cars. (Photo by Jo Murray).
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A sampling of frozen pies for sale at Long Beach’s Spring Street Ace Hardware store. (Photo by Jo Murray).
“I can’t believe how well we do with the pies” she wrote in an email, “I have tried a few myself and find the quality to be unbeatable.”
She also said that The Pie Company provides a freezer and comes every couple of weeks to restock pies.
I visited the store — which also sells Match Box cars, bird feeders, and windchimes — and picked up a couple peach cobbler and Dutch apple pies. Rindy cautioned me to keep an eye on them as the hour and 40 minute mark approaches in the oven, to be sure the crust is browned just right.
As the holidays approach, this is one unique — and delicious — way to “shop small” and support local businesses.
Marcia Marcia Marcia
The home featured in the television series “The Brady Bunch” (used only in exterior shots) is now offering limited tours as a fundraiser for Wags & Walks, a nonprofit organization aimed at reducing euthanasia rates for dogs in local shelters.
My favorite part of the tour was taking the classic stair photo, seeing maid Alice’s Keds lined up in her room, along with easter eggs like spotting a framed photo of show creator Sherwood Schwartz on a dresser.
Columnist Jo Murray (left) poses on the stairs during a tour of “The Brady Experience” with friend Stephanie Davis (right). (Photo courtesy Jo Murray).
A portion of the house featured on “The Brady Experience” tour. (Photo by Jo Murray).
The exterior of “The Brady Bunch” house. (Photo by Jo Murray).
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Columnist Jo Murray (left) poses on the stairs during a tour of “The Brady Experience” with friend Stephanie Davis (right). (Photo courtesy Jo Murray).
The home was completely overhauled in 2019 for the HGTV reality series, “A Very Brady Renovation” to resemble the interior used on air, and no detail was overlooked.
The orange and green avocado kitchen, the Jack-and-Jill style kids’ rooms, Greg’s separate attic room, Mike’s office, Alice’s quarters, and a garage full of vintage bikes are all included.
Tina Trahan, a historic home enthusiast and fan of the show, owns the house. She plans to use the property — which just received a nomination for historic landmark status — for charitable fundraising events.
For future tour dates, visit thebradyexperience.com.
Tree lighting
The Terrace Theater tree lighting will get underway on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
The annual event will feature the lighting of Long Beach’s iconic 67-foot tree, with more than 500,000 lights set to illuminate the Terrace Plaza. There will also be live performances, Santa visits, and a fireworks finale with falling snow.
It’ll run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Unfortunately, the event is already sold out — but if you really want to go, there is a waitlist available online at shorturl.at/fsrCw.
Wild Fork Long Beach
The store at 6405 E. Pacific Coast Highway is offering samples of holiday foods on
Saturday, Nov. 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Shoppers can also see the store’s variety of over 700 meat and seafood items, which chefs will cook on a barbeque in front of the store.