The Pie You Can Buy Right Out Of A Vending Machine In Texas

A pie vending machine might sound like a wild idea, but it's a sweet reality at Berdoll Pecan Candy and Gift Co. in the Lone Star State. It is pretty much permanently busy, and all it sells are full-size pecan pies and other sweet treats like candied pecans and Southern pralines.

Berdoll Candy and Gift Co. is located about 15 miles from Austin, Texas. The spot off Highway 71 is also home to Ms. Pearl, a squirrel statue that was introduced in 2011. The largest squirrel statue in the world, it is 14 feet tall. Road trippers stop to take photos with her. While Ms. Pearl is impressive and a real sweetheart, we think the bigger draw is the 24-hour pie vending machine that displays an image of her.

The dessert dispenser is so popular that Berdoll has to restock it at midnight during November and December. This makes sense; a 2022 YouGov poll of Americans found that about 65% of them are pecan pie fans. Apart from a classic pumpkin pie there's pretty much no dessert more connected with the festive season. Still, the enthusiasm patrons show for the vending machine is inspiring. Staff at Berdoll Pecan Candy and Gift Co. who review footage from the surveillance cameras set up around the machine have observed instances of pecan pie dance parties. 

The Berdolls began growing pecans in the '80s, and they still source most of their nuts from the same grove today. The gift and candy store started as a stall selling 5- and 10-pound bags of nuts in the owners' garage a couple of miles from the highway, but it quickly grew into much more. The owners built a brick and mortar store closer to the highway and began making and selling fudge, pralines, rodeo mix, gifts and toys, and of course pecan pies.

Through all this growth, Berdoll Pecan Candy and Gift Co. has remained a family business. In 2008, Jennifer Wammack and her husband Jason purchased the shop from her parents, who originally owned it. The spouses clearly had a head for business, as they're the bright sparks who added the vending machine in that same year. It was supposed to fulfill demand for the company's products outside business hours, but was such a hit it's used day and night. A few years later, they moved Ms. Pearl in and drummed up excitement by holding a contest to name her, continuing the company's metamorphosis from lowly pecan grove to full on roadside attraction.

These days, you can find Berdoll products in some branches of H-E-B and Buc-ee's rest stops, and they also deliver throughout the contiguous US. Of course, these options don't recreate the magic of (probably) the world's only pecan pie vending machine. While you're there, why not pick up some fresh Texas pecans ready for fall? We've got 16 sweet and savoury suggestions for cooking with them.