Beckmann’s Bakery scores big again at National Pie Championships

Santa Cruz-based Beckmann’s Bakery is feeling just peachy after bringing home three blue ribbons for its pies at the American Pie Council’s National Pie Championships. It earned a Best in Show ranking for three flavors: berry bomb, cherry, and peach, a new flavor set to be released this June.

This is the fourth time Beckmann’s has entered and placed in the annual championship. Last year, its pumpkin, cherry, pecan and berry bomb (mixed berry) pies earned top marks in their categories. 

Operations manager Tony Stumbaugh attended the contest outside of Orlando, Florida, in April, where Beckmann’s competed alongside hundreds of amateur, professional and commercial bakers from around the country. To enter, Stumbaugh and farmers market manager Scot Adam transported frozen, unbaked pies packed with dry ice in a cooler on a cross-country flight. Once there, they baked them in an unfamiliar oven that they “prayed wouldn’t damage the pies,” before dropping them off at a “war room” filled with thousands of entries, where the pies are whisked away by volunteers to be judged meticulously for appearance, texture and taste. 

Beckmann’s bakes more than 150,000 pies a year for wholesale and farmers markets at its bakery in Live Oak, but that number is dwarfed by other companies in the commercial category, said Stumbaugh: “We’re a small fish in a big pond, fighting against these giants of pie with industrial approaches and equipment.” Beckmann’s pies are all made by hand, with an all-butter crust that’s difficult to reproduce with large-scale baking machines. 

In order to maintain the quality of its products, Beckmann’s pies are made by hand. “We have a pie press, but all the fruit is mixed in mixers,” Stumbaugh said. “It’s all manpower.” 

Over the past four decades, Beckmann’s Bakery has become a Santa Cruz institution, with freshly baked bread, pastries and pies distributed to grocery stores throughout the region. It was founded in the 1980s by Peter Beckmann, a German immigrant who baked bread as a hobby while working in a kitchen at UC Santa Cruz. In 1985, he struck out on his own, first delivering bread on his bicycle before opening a brick-and-mortar shop on the Westside in Santa Cruz where Companion Bakeshop is now. The next year, it participated in its first farmers market.

When Beckmann’s outgrew its original home, it moved into a baking facility in the Seabright neighborhood. It was there for 25 years before securing a Paycheck Protection Program loan during the pandemic, which allowed the bakery to expand into a larger location on 17th Avenue in Santa Cruz. Along the way, founder Beckmann partnered with CEO Beth Holland and Sharon May – its first employee – who are now co-owners. 

Beckmann’s bakes between 10,000 and 14,000 loaves of bread and 800 to 1000 pies every day for wholesale distribution throughout the Bay Area, from Brentwood in the north down to Monterey, including local grocery stores like Shopper’s Corner in Santa Cruz, Deluxe Foods in Aptos and the Summit Store in the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as large chains like Whole Foods and New Leaf Community Markets. 

While Beckmann’s hasn’t had a storefront for many years, it participates in 45 farmers markets, including the Sunday market in Live Oak and the Saturday markets in Scotts Valley and at Cabrillo College. For the first time this year, it added the Tuesday Felton farmers market to the list. 

The bakery continues to grow. It recently developed an organic sourdough line and a line of frozen pies, says Stumbaugh, and is gearing up to expand to the Sacramento and Los Angeles areas. Its new peach pie flavor – the 10th in its lineup – will be released in mid-June to farmers markets and local grocery stores. 

The Best in Show wins at the National Pie Championships this year earned mostly bragging rights, but Stumbaugh says it’s gratifying for the staff of more than a hundred to see the national recognition for their work. “It’s really exciting to celebrate with the employees and validate all the hard work that they do, from the bakers to the drivers who start as early as midnight or 1 a.m.,” he said. “We love our products. We’re our biggest fans and our biggest critics.”

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