Last September, La Conner was the latest PNW town to welcome family business Pie Dive Bar into the community. This bar and restaurant combines two great American traditions, defined right in the name. What could make a perfectly imperfect, come-as-you-are dive bar better than the addition of delicious, fresh-baked pie?
Photograph courtesy of Pie Dive Bar
This is the third Pie Dive Bar, with previous locations opening in Snohomish in 2022 and Gold Bar in 2024. It’s also the ninth pie-based business opened by Alyssa Kingsbery, an award-winning baker and clinical mental health counselor. Alyssa learned to bake pie under the tutelage of the founder of Snohomish Pie Co., and went on to open multiple Seattle- based pie businesses. Pie Dive Bar is her latest venture and family project, founded by herself and her husband, musician and artist Hart Kingsbery.
The La Conner location marks an important new development for the family business: Alyssa’s sons, Luke and Owen Solvang, are stepping up. At just 21 and 19 years old respectively at the time of writing, they’re not just working at the Pie Dive Bar—they’re Co-Owners and Managers, with Luke heading the bar and front of house, and Owen baking the pies and heading the kitchen. The young men both say they’ve been looking forward to this for nearly their whole lives.
Photograph by Kristen Boehm
“I love making pie. It’s my favorite thing in the world,” says Owen. “My brother and I both knew by, like, second grade… I [was] like, ‘I’m just gonna own a pie dive bar,’ and [now] I own a pie dive bar.”
About 18 months before their bar was set to open, Luke and Owen began training at the Snohomish location. Now, they live and work in La Conner. They’ve put their best foot forward from the start, attending town meetings and getting to know the community.
Photograph by Pete Mitchell
“It’s been phenomenal,” says Luke. “I can really go at my own pace, get to know people, and really create a presence. People know me in this town already very well, and that means the world to me. It’s so cool to make a difference like that.”
La Conner’s Pie Dive Bar sits right on the boardwalk, with a large patio space and windows overlooking the Swinomish Channel. The inside is warm and welcoming, like a cozy wood cabin, and the menu features both savory and sweet pies made with Alyssa’s recipes. The drink menu was originally developed based on Hart’s time as a bartender in Seattle, but here in La Conner, Luke is making it his own.
Photograph by Pete Mitchell
When we visited, we tried the Thanksgiving pie for our main course. Thank goodness the Thanksgiving pie is available year-round—it would be a crime to miss out on the perfect balance of juicy, tender turkey, rosemary potatoes, veggies, gravy, and stuffing just because it wasn’t November. The $16 plate comes with a tasty arugula, feta, and beets house salad, which is definitely appreciated next to the filling pie.
We also got to sample two of their sweet pies, the Cherry Crumble (served a la mode) and the Banana Bourbon Cream. Both were delicious in their own right, one warm, tart, and sweet, and the other cooling, refreshing, and rich.
Photograph by Pete Mitchell
Alyssa visits Pie Dive Bar in La Conner every Friday, just to check in and “make sure everything is awesome.”
“I’m so proud of them,” she says. “They have all the instincts. For me, this is about being a mom…How cool that they want to do what I do.” 512 1st St., La Conner, 425.476.0406, piedivebar.com
