When asking an Australian to name a nostalgic bakery classic, their answer will almost always be a meat pie. Simple, yet meaningful to many, pies have become a savoury staple. While most bakeries explore a range of offerings, very few land their expertise on the classic compact pastry the way Angelwood Pies do.

Angelwood Pies officially opened in February of 2025. Although the bakery has only been around for a few months, co-owners Richard Overbye and Patrick Wallis have made their pies a mark in the local Leederville community, a suburb situated close to the heart of Perth.

The pair were friends, working together in previous years during a Modus Coffee and Commune Wine Store collaboration. It was during this time spent together they shared dreams of opening a business.

“The pop-up collaboration days were actually a great coincidence, as it wasn’t planned! While we were there though Pat and I both spoke about wanting to open a hospitality business and about wanting to execute to the highest level, whatever business it was,” Richard said.

“I guess our partnership has evolved from two guys who really wanted to open up an independent food venue, to two guys who are living out that dream as a reality.”

This dream came to Richard one morning after a strong dose of caffeine that sent his imagination on a rollercoaster of pie possibilities. With added adrenaline from a hike, Richard sat down to enjoy a pie. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with ideas on how the pie could be improved.

“I suppose it was the culmination of right place, right time, right pie, and caffeine that made me attempt to bring quality pies to the people! I can really owe it all to my wife, who with a simple “you can do better than this” was the unexpected nudge into making pies that I didn’t know I needed,” Richard said.

Richard Overbye at work

Getting started at Angelwood Pies

By the time he had driven home, there were concepts of store designs and a loose business plan written that afternoon.

Realising he needed a partner in crime, Richard reached out to his past co-worker and friend Patrick. Although there was initial hesitance from Patrick, after hearing the pitch he knew this was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed.

“Over the course of our initial catch up where Richard pitched the idea it became very obvious that this was an enormous opportunity,” Patrick said.

“Pies have such a nostalgic draw for so many Australians, and I’d been thinking for a while about trying to find a business partner with a complimentary skillset to open my first business.

“So, everything just aligned super quickly with this, and it felt like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I think also the passion and vision Richard had for the concept really brought me on board. I could visualise so clearly what we could build together and got just as excited.”

Patrick brings over a decade of experience in hospitality to the table. Prior to Angelwood, he held the role of Operations Manager at Modus Coffee, where he oversaw multiple venues and played a key part in scaling the brand while maintaining a strong focus on customer experience.

He shared the vision with Richard that if they were to open a bakery, it needed to be more than a run of the mill pie shop. They needed to take the humble pie to the next level.

The confidence that comes with these pie innovations can be attested to Richard’s fine dining experience. For most of his career, Richard worked as a chef across Australia and internationally. Most notably, he worked at a three-star Michelin restaurant in Oslo, Norway, Restaurant Amusé in Perth, and Amaru in Melbourne. With his experience in the high-brow culinary scene, Richard realised he wanted to introduced hospitality that was elevated but accessible to all.

“As far as our service goes, we aim for that to be as friendly, polished and detailed as we can, really adding the little personal touches that mean a lot. Creating relationships with regulars as well as a friendly smile and good morning to those we don’t know yet is a passion of both of ours and a notion that we aim to instill in our staff.”

Alongside wanting to create an equal opportunity to food, throughout his career, Richard has also learned the importance of using quality ingredients as well as making things properly and not cutting corners.

“That’s why we make everything including the pastry in house. I appreciate that you can still put the same level of care and attention to detail into the humble pie, and you can always aim to get just that little bit better every day,” Richard said.

The pie range varies from nostalgic to innovative

While Richard has an expertise in the kitchen, Patrick brings his own strengths to the business with strategy and development capability. Together, their collaboration balances one another, contributing to the success of their bakery.

“Our strengths coalesce very well for the obvious reason—chef and front of house—but also because of our abilities to listen to and work with each other. More fundamentally we find we have a shared vision for what we ideally want long term from a business, whilst having complimentary skills and experiences,” Patrick said.

“In terms of skills I find Richard has a really extensive knowledge in so many different areas while being extremely detail oriented, focusing on all of the smaller details which elevate our product and experience to the next level.

“Meanwhile my strengths more lie in the long-term strategy and overall structural and organisational development. We both share a love of people and nurturing connections which is part of the reason we have an open kitchen on the way to the service bar.”

Elevating the humble pie

Angelwood Pies aims to create a nostalgic but elevated menu featuring around a dozen different pies daily, with a mix of seasonal flavours and a core range that leans on some classic tastes. Although the duo heavily leans on tradition, they do not shy away from experimentation with their most recent interesting flavours including Keralan Snapper Curry, Apricot Chicken, Moroccan Vegetable Tagine, and Corned Beef Roast Dinner.

“… depending on which way you look at it [tradition] that can mean a few different things. Tradition can mean what you would traditionally put in a pie (generally heavy, beef-based gravies which are then flavoured individually), however it can also mean traditional recipes,” Richard said.

“When we decide to do something a bit different—like our Keralan snapper curry pie for example—we aim to make sure that that recipe is as traditional and true to form as possible.

“Another way of looking at it is traditional flavour combinations. We have a potato, sour cream and chive sausage roll on the menu at the moment, of which the filling in itself is not a traditional recipe; however, the flavour combination is an undoubtable classic.”

Angelwood Pies has been quoted as “a love letter to country pie shops” by the owners.

“Every Australian seems to have a moment or multiple in their life when they’re driving out in the country and have stopped into a quaint little country bakery to be inundated with the smell of freshly baked pastries. They have a very distinct feel about them, and our ‘love letter’ is aiming to distil that into a version found in the city,” Richard said.

The bakery seems to have achieved this as Patrick mentions that they’ve experienced people driving from hours away to specifically visit Angelwood Pies. With so much love already garnered, is another pie store on the horizon?

“Our primary focus right now is to set this one shop up first and make sure we have a strong foundation, and while doing that use that time to help the business grow and see what else we can create out of it,” Patrick said.

“Nothing is off limits really and we have plenty of ideas of what to do next … Maybe we’ll have another light bulb moment eating something new that’ll take us down another totally unexpected route!”