Las Golondrinas Pie Company Takes Flight

Supporting Local Growers
with Pies and Sweet Treats

By Joanna Manganaro Toto ∙ Photos by Stephanie Cameron

With the golden arches of McDonald’s looming large across the street, Andrea Bernal of Las Golondrinas Pie Company works toward undoing the damage caused by processed foods and industrial farming in America, one five-inch pie at a time. “How can I change this slowly?” she recalls asking herself when she started her company in 2018. One way, she decided, was by sourcing fresh produce and meats from local purveyors to create better-for-you treats that help support the local growing community. Among those purveyors are Bernal’s parents, who run Los Arboles farm and participate in Albuquerque’s Downtown Growers’ Market. Other partners include Chavez Farms and Polk’s Folly Farm Butcher Shop and Farm Stand.

Though farming runs deep in her roots—in addition to her parents, both sets of grandparents were also farmers—Bernal discovered that the growing gene skipped her. “I can’t grow anything for the life of me!” she says, laughing at the irony. “But I can make pies with what the farmers grow, so I just seek out good produce at the market.”

In its earliest days, Las Golondrinas sold pies by word of mouth. The response to Bernal’s creations was overwhelmingly positive, which inspired her to join her parents as a vendor at the Downtown Growers’ Market. Having gained a following for its diminutive pies, Las Golondrinas enrolled in the South Valley Economic Development Center’s celebrated Mixing Bowl program in 2019, through which Bernal received mentorship and discounted commercial kitchen space to grow her business.

Shortly after Bernal joined the Mixing Bowl program, the pandemic hit, leading to the temporary closure of farmers markets and turmoil in food businesses across the country and around the world. Paradoxically, Las Golondrinas flourished during the pandemic, serving up the comfort foods its customers craved during that stressful time. By the time the market pivoted to a farm-to-car model, Bernal had ramped up her website’s online ordering capabilities to arrange for curbside pickups. The site continues to be central to the business.

As its name suggests, Las Golondrinas Pie Company’s core products are its pies, both sweet and savory. Its tiny five-inchers have always been bestsellers, featuring seasonal ingredients from local suppliers. In the winter, quince, apple, sweet potato, and pecan are in heavy rotation. Spring brings strawberries and rhubarb to the mix. Stone fruits grace the summer pies, while pumpkin is the most popular fall filling. Savory potpies include chicken green chile and a hunter’s pie, featuring local bison, and decorative crusts by Bernal’s brother, Diego Villegas.

Though the pies are always in demand, a later addition to the menu became an instant hit and unexpectedly led to Las Golondrinas finding its new home in 2023. Early on, one of Bernal’s advisors in the Mixing Bowl program suggested that she try selling empanadas, noting that their portability made them a market-friendly option. Bernal initially balked at the idea, recalling bulky, bready empanadas she had sampled in the past. However, the thought of making something that was easier for customers to eat stuck with her, and she began experimenting with her own take on empanadas, featuring delicate, flaky crusts filled with the fresh ingredients she used in her pies.

While vending at the coffee house, Bernal inquired about a space in the corner of the restaurant that was being used for storage. Her time in the Mixing Bowl program was coming to an end, and she needed a place to continue baking. Bernal brought up the possibility of Las Golondrinas using the space, and after some discussion, Gonzales agreed to allow her to make it her own.

Bernal outfitted the narrow space with the appliances needed to bake her creations and carried on preparing pies for the markets and her online customers, while continuing to supply Barelas Coffee House with the empanadas its patrons craved. When I visited in October, she anticipated that Las Golondrinas’s 2023 holiday season would be its biggest yet and planned to cap orders to be sure she could handle the demand. In addition to her pies and empanadas, Bernal was offering her popular Mexican wedding cookies and biscochitos, made in collaboration with her sister, Virginia Villegas.

Though she is committed to the growth of Las Golondrinas, Bernal is determined to make the evolution sustainable. Citing problems at other businesses, she says, “I’ve seen product change as the demand gets higher, and I really want to keep [Las Golondrinas’s product] the way it is.” Passing a package of five-inch pies across the table, she adds, “I’m OK with small.” Her customers—including this writer—are too.

150 Fourth Street SW, Albuquerque, 970-690-1183,
lasgolondrinaspiecompany.com