WORCESTER — It’s considered a Worcester icon, and now Table Talk Pies is getting ready to celebrate 100 years in business. However, the last few years have been challenging and the local company almost had to shut its doors. But the bakery persevered and credits its success to its local community.
It’s been a staple on dinner tables across Massachusetts and beyond. Table Talk Pies goes back generations—when two Greek immigrants came to America in search of a better life and started up a bakery in 1924.
“And then my grandfather said, gee, I see a lot of the Americans eating pies,” said Harry Kokkinis, the President of Table Talk Pies. “Maybe we should start making some of those.”
Harry Kokkinis says his grandfather, Theodore Tona, and his business partner Angelo Cotsidas named their business Table Talk because they believed families should have something to enjoy when they sat around the table and talked.
“And it’s just grown from there to where, you know, from their little beginnings to where we’re making close to 200 million small four-inch pies every year,” said Kokkinis.
From 1942 to January of 2022, Table Talk made its pies at a facility in Kelley Square, but with the need for more streamlined operation and knowing that Polar Park was moving in, the company knew that it needed to move. Kokkinis felt it was important for his family business that started in Worcester needed to stay in Worcester.
“It’s 130,000 square feet all on one floor,” said Kokkinis as he walked through his brand-new facility on Gardner Street.
“We still do it kind of the old-fashioned way,” said Kokkinis.
And it requires making everything from scratch. From the dough kneading to the pie filling, the process has been modernized. But the most important ingredient remains consistent.
“Quality,” said Kokkinis. “And it’s really that’s what he instilled in my father and my father instilled that in me. And that’s just that’s how we’ve maintained that.”
Table Talk has relied on its quality pies to grow throughout the years—now employing 300 full-time workers.
“So it’s just always been, you know, coming to a family, working with everybody and getting along with everyone,” said Erica Alfaro, who is a senior Quality Assurance Manager.
Alfaro has been with the company for 20 years and says there’s another sweet incentive to her job.
“We have a teaspoon every week, so we look forward to it because we get to taste different pies,” said Alfaro.
But the pandemic, coupled with supply chain issues and staffing challenges almost forced Table Talk to close its doors. Investors jumped in to help save the business. Instead of laying off employees, Table Talk is hiring and doing almost $150 million in sales annually. And as a way to honor his family’s dedication to the community, Kokkinis is working on plans to celebrate the company’s 100-year milestone.
“I think just that the legacy is what helped carry me through difficult times,” said Kokkinis. “And just knowing this has just got to continue. And even though it’s hard, you know, it’s very difficult. There’s so much history here. We just can’t let it fade away. Now we’re going to want to make sure the Table Talk is around hopefully for another 100 years.”
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