Julian Pie Co.

On our list of the best dessert spots in San Diego.

Founded by Liz Smothers in 1986 after she learned pie-making at her mother's Kansas counter, Julian Pie Company started as a single downtown shop before demand pushed it into wholesale and a second location in Santa Ysabel. Smothers and her husband planted 17,000 apple trees on a farm bought in 1989, though the town's two-month apple season means the company also sources apples from Oregon and Washington the rest of the year. Her son Dave now runs the Julian storefront on Main Street, while brother Tim manages the Santa Ysabel operation, still baking off their mother's original recipe.