Auntie Em’s Settles in to The Market at Park City

Auntie Em's storefront grand opening is Monday, February 20. Swing by to support and for free pie bites and swag. Photo: Emily Burney.

PARK CITY, Utah. — Auntie Em’s has just survived the holidays; not an easy feat in the business of baking pies. Emily Burney and her two employees moved to The Market at Park City in November, just before their busy season. 

“[The Market] is geared better for production, but hard for connection with customers,” Burney said about the new location. “We’ve grown our business through connecting with our customers, and now we’re not really getting to interact with them when they buy from us.”

Their last location, the Kimball Art Center, is part of a city-led project to redevelop the area along Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive. Auntie Em’s found itself in need of a new home with the announcement the building they were doing business from would be torn down. Now, Burney and her team prepare items in the deli section of The Market, located in town on Snow Creek Dr.

Although the new location has led to less face-to-face interaction, more customers see Auntie Em’s goods in their new location. Burney’s bakery items also sell around town at Atticus, Harvest, Silver King, Copper Moose, and the Park City Farmers Market in the summer. 

Burney, a Park City resident since 2010, wanted to have a bakery since she was a kid. Auntie Em’s started in 2014 and was a summer operation until she opened shop within the Kimball Arts Center in March 2019.

“I always had the dream of having a bakery and was looking for more meaningful work to complement my wintertime work. So I just started it in a low consequence way in the Park City Farmers Market,” Burney said.

She worked as a ski patroller by winter and baker by summer until turning Auntie Em’s into her full-time passion. Then came Covid-19.

Though Covid-19 was scary for the business at first, Auntie Em’s was small and nimble, stayed flexible, and changed operations to come out stronger in the end, said Burney. 

“[The community] has been amazing,” Burney said. They’ve spread the word for us. But also have been a repeat friendly presence who has been really supportive and encouraging and very honest.”

Burney still maintains a dream of owning a gathering place that is all hers. She hopes that The Market will serve as a step closer to that ultimate plan. Burney said she does her best to say yes to opportunities and trust they will work out.

“Follow a small curiosity, and walk through doors that open along the way,” she said.

To get your hands on the local’s favorite, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, and other baked goods, order online at Auntie Em’s.