by Amanda Harnocz
Reporter
Tallmadge -- Osman's Pies bakery, a local mainstay for 59 years before closing in 2007, officially re-opened on Jan. 23 at 599 S. Munroe Road as Grandma Lena's Pies.
The store is named after Lena Osman, who opened her first pie store in Stow in 1949.
Lena's grandson, Terry Osman, said he thought it was time to open a store again after Osman's Pies closed its doors in both Stow and Tallmadge last March.
"To have the business sit idle was just really bothering him," said store part-owner Stacey Zarback. "So, between me, my husband [Kurt] and Terry, we decided to see what we could do."
Currently, the store is being run by the owners, the Zarbacks, Osman and his fiancee Sue Lutz and a part-time helper. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
In order to get the business up and running again, Osman and his employees have been selling pies out of his Akron optometry office for the past two weeks.
According to Osman, they re-opened in Tallmadge because they liked the area and his store was previously located just off the Circle where the new Rite-Aid is, he said.
Osman said he's happy to have the store open again.
"I felt like I didn't have anything to do when we closed -- now I feel normal again," he said.
According to Osman, for Lena Osman, fresh ingredients were a necessity and lard was the key ingredient for achieving a moist, flaky pie crust.
Since then, the family has continued making pies with the idea of using preservative-free ingredients.
"We have coconut, lemon, chocolate, banana, cherry, apple, pineapple, raisin, peach, blueberry ..." Zarback said while listing all the homemade pie flavors being offered at the new business.
Now that Grandma Lena's Pies has a new home, Osman said they will sell a variety of pies and cookies to individuals and restaurants, Zarback said.
According to Osman, the phone hasn't stopped ringing since word got out that a new store was opening.
"Ravenna based restaurant Mimi's Cafe has already called and is interested in ordering," Zarback added.
To order pies, call Grandma Lena's Pies at 330-634-9665 or Osman Optical at 330-784-1505.
Editor's note: Harnocz is a reporter for the Tallmadge Express.
E-mail: aharnocz@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3911