During Seattle Restaurant Week, Seattleites are given a unique chance to support the greater Seattle area’s culinary community, highlighting its craft, diversity, resilience, and great food! On the heels of Filipino American History Month, Seattle Office of Economic Development is highlighting grayseas pies!
grayseas pies was started by Gracie Santos, who used baking as a therapeutic means to connect with family and friends, while dealing with the stressors of quarantine during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, Santos worked at Archipelago, a Hillman City Filipino American restaurant that was recently named in the New York Times 2021 Restaurant List.
“I started trading with other businesses. My friends who owned their own pop-up or their own small businesses, I would trade my pie for something that they were making or selling. I think my first trade was for a plant that my mom wanted from my friend who owns The Power Plant… I traded a pie for loaves of bread from my friend who owns doughbaby, and word just got out. People started to find out that I was making pies, and then people started offering me money.”
In November 2020, Santos collaborated with her roommate Kyrse Panis Martin—owner of KRYSE – a pop-up ice creamery with rotating flavors like maple sweet tea, caramel popcorn, matcha strawberry shortcake, and more—to host her first professional pop-up. Santos and Martin concocted “Gracie’s Apple Pie a la Mode” an apple compote with a buttery crust swirled in vanilla bean ice cream. grayseas pies’ 2020 launch gave the pop-up a word-of-mouth boost for the Thanksgiving holiday. Since then, Santos has collaborated with other pop-ups and small businesses. Last weekend, Santos and Martin dropped their latest creation, “Pumpkin Pear Pie” ice cream – a spiced pumpkin and vanilla cardamon flavored ice cream with pear compote and graham cracker crumble.
Most recently, in honor of Filipino American History Month, grayseas pies partnered with Enroot Cold Brew Wellness Teas and Ninang NuNu to package 5 unique pies paired with sparkling tea, and a sticker featuring a local Filipina entrepreneur. Every Sunday during October, grayseas pies was featured at a Filipino-owned business including Moksha, Good Sister, Musang (Seattle Office of Economic Development 2019 Tenant Improvement Grant Awardee), Archipelago, and Moto. 10% of collaboration proceeds went towards the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) Washington’s Karapatang Kalusugan at Kabuhauan (People’s Right to Health and Livelihood) initiative—that promotes free, comprehensive healthcare in the U.S. and the Philippines.
“Filipino American History Month means honoring Filipinos coming to America and what opportunities it gave to Filipinos. I feel like Filipino American history is being written as we speak – we’re making that history now. Whatever success that Filipino Americans are making now are because of the success of Filipino Americans that came before us. Having grayseas pies collaborate with other Filipino Americans here in Seattle and other places, is a way to uplift other Filipino American businesses and to honor Filipino American history,”
grayseas pies Seattle Restaurant Week debut is showcasing their first savory pie – a Chicken Adobo Pot Pie that marries the Philippines national dish with American comfort food. Santos uses her mother’s recipe for chicken adobo – chicken braised in soy sauce and vinegar, and seasoned with garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Coconut milk is substituted for regular milk, paying tribute to regions in the Philippines that uses coconut milk in their adobo. The lunch dessert is a Peach Mango Pocket Pie—a homage to Jollibee’s, and finally, the dinner dessert is a Cassava Langka (Jackfruit) Pie with macapuno, coconut and condense milk.
For Seattle Restaurant Week, grayseas pies is popping up at two locations. Lunch pick-ups are at Broadcast Coffee. Dinner can be picked up at El Mercadito – a community driven farmers market in South Park. The Seattle Office of Economic Development recently provided technical assistance for permitting to El Mercadito’s organizers to support their ability to operate as Seattle’s newest farmer’s market. Seattleites can upload their receipts from participating Seattle Restaurant Week businesses that are People of Color owned business to the Intentionalist’s Receipt & Receive for a chance to win a prize from Seattle Restaurant Week businesses.
grayseas pies can be ordered on their website , where you can also see where they’re popping up at next! You can order a pie for the holiday season, special event, or for fun by emailing grayseas pies. Be sure to also follow grayseas pies on Instagram.
The Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED) is a proud sponsor of Seattle Restaurant Week that highlights Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-owned businesses. OED is committed to building an equitable and inclusive economy that benefits the whole city by promoting access to economic opportunities for all of Seattle’s diverse communities. The Small Business Development Team helps small business owners stabilize and grow through direct investment strategies such as the Small Business Stabilization Fund, technical assistance programs, and connects them to additional resources.