BY SIERRA EARNHART

Greenwood High School

Brie and Brad Golliher bought the Boyce General Store August 2012 and turned it into a restaurant that serves authentic country cooking and locally famous pies.

The rural crossroads near Alvaton, Kentucky, hasn’t been the same since.

“Our whole mission statement is family tradition,” Brie Golliher said. “I grew up just down the road. My boys are sixth-generation Boyce residents.”

The Gollihers started the restaurant with community in mind. Built in 1869, the family-oriented country store brings visitors from all over the state. They have Friday night fish fries, which attracts hundreds of people, and an annual Peach Party festival taking place June 23 that averages about 500 guests.

Brie Golliher’s famous pies have dubbed her as the “The Pie Queen.”

“We are very active in our local food. Almost 60 percent of what we serve is locally produced.” Brie Golliher said.

Brie, a graduate of Western Kentucky University who majored in photojournalism, said she has been baking her whole life.

“I love to bake,” she said. “Baking is my love language.”

Brie Golliher sold pies for three years at a local farmer’s market after purchasing Boyce General Store. In 2015, she opened “The Pie Queen” in downtown Bowling Green but closed it a year later because she was working 14-hour days, seven days a week.

“I have two boys, you know,” she said. “I just couldn’t keep making the commute.”

The Pie Queen did, however, bring a bigger clientele to Boyce. Most of the customers now make the drive to get some of Brie Golliher’s desserts.

Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Country Living magazines, and USA Today Travel have all praised Boyce General Store and Brie Golliher’s pies.

“I was sitting on my couch when my friend texted me about the [Southern Living] article,” she said. “Then my phone just started blowing up. It was pretty nuts.”

Sef Gonzales’ Hamburger House Party at Miami’s Magic City Casino even invited the Gollihers to cook a burger for them back in March. Gonzales was traveling through Kentucky and made a stop at the Gollihers’ store. He tried their popular Pimento Cheese Burger and later asked the Gollihers to prepare a jalapeno-pimento cheese and pig candy, a bacon variant, burger. They called it the “Pigmento” burger.

She and Gonzales “just kind of hit it off and stayed in touch,” said Brie Golliher.

Friday is the only day they serve dinner.

“Hopefully we can just keep a face of clientele year-round,” Brie Golliher said.

They plan to make more space for indoor seating during the winter so they can attract more customers.

The Boyce General Store is a staple in the Boyce community. It’s more than a restaurant. It’s a place of belonging, history and homemade country-style cooking.

“If I was on the outside and I was looking in,” Brad Golliher said, “I would think Boyce, to me, represents family.”