HOUSTON — "Everyone said you should call it humble pie, but there is nothing humble about the way I talk about pie," said Scott Chapman owner of Proud Pie in Katy.
After 20 years in the food and beverage industry, Chapman realized his true passion in life: pie making. So, he opened an aptly named shop. Despite his business taking hits during the pandemic, and now dealing with skyrocketing food prices, he refuses to cut corners with his desserts.
"I think pie is getting away from us as Americans," Chapman said. "I think less and less people want to roll out the dough and learn how to make a crust."
When he's not at his pie shop, Chapman is putting the same love, attention, and care into his other obsession: making guitars.
He considers himself more of a hobbyist than a luthier. Chapman purchases the guitar body from a woodworker, but he paints it himself before attaching the hardware and electronics. Within a few months, his house was filled with his work.
"My wife was going to divorce me if I didn't start doing something with the guitars I was making," Chapman said.
After seeing a signed guitar go for a high dollar at a charity auction, he decided to do the same. Friends of friends began connecting him with famous musicians, including Lyle Lovette and Eli Young Band. He began sending his guitars out for signatures, then donating them to local charities to be auctioned.
Chapman said he's thrilled to serve his community through both of his passions: pies and guitars.
"People are going to remember you for the people that you touched and the lives that you have changed," Chapman said.