At Sweet William’s, a good day to pie hard

By Alexander Wilburn

SALISBURY — On Nov. 23, the dreaded day before Thanksgiving as the shopping list grows to a size best described as gargantuan, Sweet William’s co-owners Jason Young and Michael Lampro will have been hard at work baking and cooking since the early hours. 

Young said in an interview last week that he planned to begin baking pies at 3 a.m. “We do apple crumb, peach crumb, blueberry, pumpkin, pumpkin-praline, minced fruit, pecan. 

“We make cheesecake — the pumpkin cheesecake is obviously the most popular for Thanksgiving but we also do caramel pecan and a lemon version. 

“We start Tuesday and work all day, then come back at 3 in the morning onWednesday. We stay open until 4 in the afternoon selling pies. We have big lines. People often come late in the afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, disappointed that we’ve sold out of pies.” 

The moral of the story is to call ahead. (Since this issue comes out on Thanksgiving day, you  might need to apply this tip to Christmas planning.) 

This is all in Sweet William’s 19 Main St. location, renamed their “Desserts & Scoop Shop” where customers can also pick up handmade ice cream sandwiches with inventive and decadent holiday ingredients like pumpkin ice cream between two ginger shortbread cookies. The neighboring 17 Main St. shop, where Salisbury’s early risers can be spotted streetside getting their coffee, is offering items on the savory side: spinach and sun-dried tomato croissants, vegetable quiche, savory pudding and breakfast soufflés.