Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie bakery was founded in Brooklyn in 2009 by sisters and pie makers Melissa Elsen and Emily Elsen.

"When we decided to open a pie shop in New York City, we were hard pressed to find anyone focusing exclusively on pies in a truly handmade way, using seasonal and fresh ingredients sourced from local orchards. Sure, plenty of bakeries made and carried pies, but not pies like ours; and we didn't know of any places in the neighborhoods we frequented that were dedicated exclusively to the experience of sitting down and eating a slice of freshly baked, handmade pie with a cup of coffee; and that is exactly what we wanted to create: a local pie shop."

-Emily + Melissa, from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, Uncommon Recipes from the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop

Emily and Melissa Elsen's first book of pie recipes The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book: Uncommon Recipes from the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop was released in October of 2013 and has received international critical praise and sold over 35,000 copies worldwide. It has been translated to the French by Marabout and Swedish by Natur & Kultur.

Named “Artisans of the Year” by Time Out New York in 2011, their pies have received critical praise and have been featured in a variety of international food media including the Food Network and the Cooking Channel, in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Good Morning America, Oprah and New York Magazine.

The sisters originally custom-baked pies in their Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment before opening their first brick and morter retail location in Gowanus, Brooklyn in the Spring of 2010.