Here's what happens when you combine an analytical brain, pandemic isolation, and a love for baking pies: The Pie Dish, a new pie shop whose picture-perfect pies are set to make Frisco the talk of pie town.

The shop will open in mid-November in a new retail center at 7967 Custer Rd. #200, where it will serve cream-based and savory pies made from scratch each day.

The shop is from Julia Henricks, a Houston native who moved to Dallas for college and had a career as a biomedical engineer that came to feel unfulfilling.

"One day in therapy, instead of talking about the stress my job was causing me, I talked for two hours about the pies I was so excited to make for Thanksgiving," she says. "Talking about baking with family and baking pies is what made me most happy. After that, a small light bulb went off."

It took the pandemic — the uncertainty and isolation that many of us felt — to give her the final push.

Henricks likens her background in engineering to the science involved in baking.

"You've heard the expression 'Cooking is art, baking is science,' and it's so true," Henricks says.

Her pie selection focuses on homey cream pies. Flavors include:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream
• Harvest Fruit Cream
• Cocoa Mocha Cream
• Pumpkin Custard and Cream
• Cranberry Cream

"Our crusts are all graham cracker crust, because 90 percent of the pies we make are not baked, and graham-cracker crusts work better for that," she says. "But even our graham crackers are made from scratch."

They'll also do savory quiches in unusual flavors such as zucchini cheese quiche and vegetarian taco quiche, which has mushroom, onion, cheese, and taco seasoning.

The "from scratch" part is a priority, she says.

"There are pie places where there's a centralized location that bakes all the pies, but I did not want to run that way," she says. "It's important to me that we bake in house. When you come in, you can see the kitchen with big windows, so you can see what’s going on, and what we’ve made that day."

The shop will not have in-house seating, but Henricks says they have neighbors like Spoon & Fork where customers are welcome to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy their pie.

The pies will be sold in three modes: a 9-inch whole pie, personal slices, and a snack pie that's smaller than a slice, which they'll sell in a 4-pack or 12-pack with a variety of flavors.

Henricks says she’s thrilled to be bringing her passion project to life in Frisco.

“Baking is my love language,” she says. “Baking has always been what sparks joy in my life.”