'One cherry pit at a time': Asbury Cafe serving up pies at State Fair for 65 years

For decades, New Mexico State Fair guests have been coming to the Asbury Cafe for that delicious piece of pie.

Albuquerque resident Marie Henfling said she has been stopping by for over 20 years.

“The first thing we do when we get to the fair is rush to the Asbury Cafe,” she said. “It has become a tradition.”

Henfling said she typically orders the strawberry rhubarb, which has “got that kind of fresh, sweet tart.”

“The crust is perfect,” she said.

The cafe has been selling pies at the fair since 1960. It is run by the Asbury United Methodist Church, which has volunteers from other churches who help bake the pies and staff the business. All sales are donated to local food charities.

“It’s just satisfying to be able to serve the local community,” said cafe co-coordinator Anna Kerley.

‘Doing the work of Christ... one cherry pit at a time’

When the Asbury United Methodist Church opened in 1957, its founding members struggled to pay for its programs and building. Three years later, the Rev. Lloyd Shryock proposed a fundraiser to make and sell pies at the fair.

“We all thought he was out of his mind,” long-time church member Virginia Fry said. “The booth was in the goat barn, at the end of the main road, and then we were at the back of the building. There were lots of church cafes then, lots of good food. If it hadn’t been for hungry cattlemen and the 4-H kids, we wouldn’t have sold anything.”

The cafe made $471.66 that year, church member Laura Carlson said, with 10% going to charities and the rest to the church. About a decade later, the church decided it no longer needed cafe profits to fund its budget. Instead, it agreed to donate that money to nonprofits, she said.

“It marked a change in the spirit of the congregation, from one of scarcity and inadequacy to a powerful affirmation of God’s ability to meet our needs and the needs of others through us,” then-Rev. Mark Dorff wrote in a church report.

Around this time, the Asbury Cafe moved to its present-day location, near the Manuel Lujan Jr. Exhibit Complex. Over the years, the entire church congregation would become involved. One member, Lita Dale, baked as many as 257 flaky-crusted pies during the 1986 fair, Carlson said.

Asbury members began having parties that involved making pies in an assembly-line style. So many pies were being baked that Asbury took on partner churches to help out, Carlson said. St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church joined and was followed by St. John’s United Methodist Church and other churches.

Today, the cafe sells about 25 different kinds of pies, including green chile apple, cherry and strawberry rhubarb. It also caters to those who are on gluten-free and sugar-free diets, Kerley said.

“The customers are very patient,” St. John’s United Methodist Church member Jack Nuzum said. “They know we’re all volunteers.”

The pie sales will go to a dozen metro area nonprofits, including Storehouse New Mexico, Meals on Wheels, Silver Horizons, East Mountain Food Pantry and the Lobo Food Pantry. Last year, the Asbury Cafe raised about $60,000. Kerley said she hopes at least that amount is raised this year.

“What we often do not see is the family that benefits from our efforts,” former Rev. James Large said in the mid-1990s. “The little girl, who, through no fault of her own, has never had new shoes, but her pretty ‘new’ shoes come from an organization that we support ...

“It is the volunteer effort that makes the dollars stretch for each of the programs we divide proceeds with ... When we volunteer to pick fruit, open our freezer space to cafe pies, or wipe the counter after a spilled soda ... we are doing the work of Christ in this community, one cherry pit at a time.”