Prairie Pie owners consolidating operations into newly purchased Tea Bar

Two months after buying Tea Bar & Bites Bakery & Cafe, the owners of Prairie Pie are consolidating the downtown Springfield pie shop into the Rountree restaurant.

Prairie Pie announced the closure of its 307 S. Jefferson Ave. storefront in a Facebook post yesterday.

“It’s bittersweet to leave our beautiful downtown space! So much life happened here," the post reads. "We hope to see you in the Rountree neighborhood."

Prairie Pie, owned by Eleanor Taylor and Vance Hall, opened its brick-and-mortar space near the Jefferson Avenue and McDaniel Street intersection in 2021 after the business was started in 2016, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The shop's offerings include made-to-order mini and regular sweet pies, pot pies and cookies.

Taylor and Hall in January bought Tea Bar & Bites Bakery & Cafe, located at 621 S. Pickwick Ave. in the Rountree neighborhood. Some of the downtown eatery’s baked goods, frozen take-and-bake pot pies and ice cream offerings were added to Tea Bar & Bites at that time, with the Rountree restaurant's menu remaining intact.

The Facebook post yesterday indicated that pies, cookies and pot pies are available at Tea Bar & Bites, and that Prairie Pie is preparing for a Pi Day promotion on March 14.

The transition timeline was not disclosed in the post, and the ownership could not be reached for comment by deadline.

The operational changes also impact Therefore, Pizza LLC, which launched a brick-and-mortar space inside the downtown Prairie Pie shop in early 2022, according to past reporting. Therefore, Pizza previously operated in St. James as a food truck.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Therefore, Pizza said the company no longer would be "slanging slices" at the Prairie Pie location. The post hinted at the company’s future plans but did not provide a timeline. The company owner, Alex Giger, could not be reached for comment this morning.