A Purple Pie Stop Worth Finding in Custer

Purple is not a shy color here. It sets the tone for this cheerful Custer stop, where the front of the building is devoted to pie and ice cream and the diner seating waits farther back. The result is a pleasantly offbeat arrangement: you can come in thinking about a cone, spot a pie you need to try, then decide lunch sounds good, too.

The place has the casual flexibility that works well on a Black Hills day. It can be a sit-down break after time on the road, a lunch with a dessert built in, or simply a quick stop for a pie slice with ice cream before getting back to the drive.

The pie selection is the main reason to pause and look around before ordering. Fresh whole pies and slices give the counter a bakery-like sense of possibility, with fruit pies, cream pies and a few flavors that go beyond the usual diner lineup.

Bumbleberry is among the recurring favorites, alongside blueberry, blackberry, apple, peach and strawberry-rhubarb. Peanut butter pie and cheesecake provide a change of pace when fruit is not the mood.

Pie à la mode is a sensible way to enjoy the place’s two specialties at once. Bumbleberry has been paired with blueberry cheesecake ice cream, a combination that sounds right at home in a room where dessert is allowed to be a little playful.

The ice cream counter offers a broad range of flavors, so a sundae or a straightforward scoop is also an easy answer. It is not necessary to commit to a full meal to have a proper stop here.

Blueberry pie is a good choice for someone who wants an old-fashioned fruit pie rather than a sugar-heavy dessert. Whole berries fill the slice, the crust has a crisp bite, and the filling stays on the less-sweet side.

The peach pie takes a fuller, crumb-topped approach, with substantial fruit beneath its streusel-like topping. It is the sort of slice that suits a fork better than a quick grab-and-go nibble.

Strawberry-rhubarb gives the case a tart-sweet classic, while blackberry and apple offer familiar choices for travelers who prefer not to experiment too much. The cream-pie selection changes, which gives returning visitors another reason to look over the case instead of ordering the same thing automatically.

Then there is the rhubarb-raspberry-jalapeño pie. The name alone earns a second look. Its sweet-and-spicy combination is a reminder that this is not a counter built entirely around safe, standard flavors.

Past the counter, the back dining area shifts the visit from dessert run to meal stop. The savory menu is focused rather than sprawling, covering the useful diner territory of sandwiches, salads, soups, macaroni and cheese and pot pies.

Chicken pot pie is a signature order and a substantial one. It arrives with large pieces of white-meat chicken, a crisp crust lining the dish, and another layer of crust across the top. This is not merely a token savory option at a pie shop.

Homemade macaroni and cheese gives the menu another comfort-food lane, and broccoli-cheddar soup makes an easy companion to a sandwich. Chicken salad, turkey sandwiches and salads keep the lunch side of the menu varied without wandering too far from familiar fare.

For a straightforward handheld lunch, choices include a turkey panini, chicken salad sandwich, BLT, French dip and barbecue pork sandwich. The turkey sandwich and broccoli-cheddar soup combination has room on the table for younger diners as well as adults, which helps when a group is not all craving the same thing.

The quarter-pound chili dog is the more unapologetically casual option, loaded with chili and built for a bigger appetite. It makes a convincing case for saving just a little room rather than skipping pie altogether.

Brewed iced tea is available with meal service. A glass of it beside soup, a sandwich or chicken pot pie gives the diner side of the room its own simple rhythm before the dessert decision begins.

This is an easy place for a table with competing appetites. One person can order a salad, another can settle into pot pie, somebody else can have macaroni and cheese, and the pie-minded member of the group does not have to wait for a separate stop afterward.

The purple color scheme and playful, eclectic décor keep the meal from reading like a generic roadside lunch. It is a colorful little detour in its own right, with the front counter and the back dining room giving the visit two distinct moods.

For travelers who only want dessert, the counter setup keeps the decision simple: choose a slice, add ice cream if the occasion calls for it, and carry on. For those with more time, the diner seating makes it easy to turn that slice into the finish of a full meal.

Free parking is available in a lot, and free street parking has also been available nearby. Parking can be tighter at busy moments, so it is best viewed as a convenience rather than a guarantee of an open spot right at the door.

The front counter can draw a line, while the seating for meals is farther back. A counter queue does not necessarily tell the whole story for diners planning to sit down, and the pace can range from an immediate stop to a short wait.

The changing cream pies and the sheer number of fruit-pie possibilities make repeat visits easy to justify. A bumbleberry slice one trip and peach or strawberry-rhubarb the next is a perfectly reasonable way to work through Custer.