(Greenville, SC) Southern Sweet Potato Pies, LLC held its ribbon cutting ceremony today with The Greenville Chamber at Imagine Kitchen in Greenville County where former Upstate business development professional Shontel Babb bakes up her company’s sole offering, Aunt Tel’s PREMIUM Sweet Potato Pie.  The Limited Liability Company (LLC) was formed on October 7 with a very specific objective in mind—to bring a local favorite dessert out of the shadows and onto the holiday tables of as many Upstate households as possible.  Babb was in the middle of a job search when she decided that, with sweet potato season and several holidays just around the corner, instead of returning immediately to corporate America, she should bet on herself and on the pie she likes to jokingly refer to as her “retirement plan.”

“I was one of the first team members when Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery opened back in 2011 and it was there that I developed a passion for fresh, high-quality ingredients from local growers and makers. My pie wasn't born in the Swamp Kitchen but it was certainly baptized there in that deliciously flaky all-butter Swamp Crust, Happy Cow butter, and Covington variety sweet potatoes from Bio-Way Farm in Pelzer, SC.  I’ve increased the amount of filling and my pie now weighs more than two pounds.”  All of these elements have combined to turn a good pie into a great one that Babb says no one should be afraid to try.  “I feel proudest when folks who tell me they don’t care for sweet potatoes end up quite pleasantly surprised that they really like the pie, and then they thank me for convincing them to try it.  It’s unencumbered with the unnecessary spices that most people put in a sweet potato pie, so you taste buttery sweet potato goodness.  If I can get folks to try it, they’re pretty much hooked.”

Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery will begin retailing the pie this season, and Babb couldn’t think of a more exciting or more appropriate first retail placement.  Until then, you can order Aunt Tel’s PREMIUM Sweet Potato Pie online as well as schedule delivery or pick up right on the website at www.SouthernSweetPotatoPies.com. 

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