Hi, there!
We're Michael and Megan Pastor, and here's our story.
Before opening Pie Hard, I was a Chef for over ten years at award winning restaurants in Chicago and St. Louis, including Alinea, Niche, Pastaria, and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. We traded city life for the country when my wife Megan and I moved back to her hometown Waterloo, Illinois. On my off days I love cooking dinner parties for friends, spending time with son Fox, reading cookbooks, and shopping farmer’s markets for inspiration.
My earliest memories of cooking always take me back to my grandmother's kitchen; making batch after batch of kolach for the holidays. My passion for food was born when I became addicted to learning new skills and flavor combinations from watching Iron Chef in my early 20's. My extensive journeys through culinary school, the restaurant industry, international travels, and continued research helps me find inspiring ways to introduce the world of delicious and healthy food to families with any diet and lifestyle.
Pie Hard food truck was born in 2017, traveling around the St. Louis metro area cooking up wood fired pies out of a converted shipping container. It was a wild (and very hot) way to start our small business journey.
In 2019 we sold the food truck and began construction on our brick and mortar restaurant in an old Subway shop. Little did we know that a pandemic would derail the plans that we so delicately laid out. With the help of family, friends, and our great staff, we are heading into our 5th year as a pizzeria.