Have you ever had a hankering for a slice of something sweet and also needed power tools at the exact same time? Well, you’re in luck.

In January, TikToker and UCLA student Brad Brady posted about a surprising item sold at home improvement retailer Ace Hardware: pies. Yes — the kind you put in the oven and bake.

“It’s like the AutoZone seafood boil, but even better,” Brady says in reference to a 2024 parody video about auto parts retailer selling seafood.

“Apricot, blackberry, blueberry; I’m gonna go strawberry rhubarb,” he says, peruses and pays. “It was also only $18.99, which I think is a good deal.”

Later at home, he rips open his pie, like a kid on Christmas morning, and pops it in the cold oven, going against instructions. “I think preheating is a scam, and I’ll die on that hill,” he says.

A couple of hours later, the pie is golden-brown, bubbling and ready. Rating the pie’s appearance a 2 out of 10, he admits its gooeyness is his fault for not waiting for it to cool.

When he takes his first bite, he’s silent, confused — then takes another.

“Hold on. Oh my God, no way,” he says. “I’ve had many a strawberry-rhubarb pie in my life, and this one has a perfect amount of tang, and the texture is almost like pudding. And this is while it’s hot. I can’t even imagine what it’s gonna be like when it’s cold.”

Brady says he’s at “a loss for words” and deems the pie “one of the best” he’s ever had.

Although Brady isn’t the first person to post about Ace Hardware selling pie, his video went viral, garnering over 3 million views, and commenters were mostly tickled by the incongruous marriage of hardware and pastry.

“I mean ace is the place,” noted one TikTok user.

“My ace hardware has a whole cafe. You can get ice cream, pizza, slushies, nachos. I love a slushie and a slice of pizza while i browse 😂 they even have a walk up window outside so you can get food without going in,” another wrote.

Since his first video went viral, Brad has tried several of Ace’s pies, of which there are 15 flavors.

As of Feb. 6, Brady has tried seven of them, including boysenberry and caramel apple, the latter of which he says might be “better” than strawberry rhubarb.

“This pie is like going to your grandma’s house, and finding her candy jar and having a little bit too much, and it leaves that weird flavor in your mouth,” he says of the caramel apple pie. “But it’s nostalgic.”

He doesn’t mince words when he doesn’t like a pie: He called the blueberry pie the “worst,” but then admits he hates blueberries, and said the peach pie was “light on the peach.”

Brady tells TODAY.com he plans to focus on tenant rights at law school after a gap year, and that he happened upon these pies with a friend one day.

“It was two days before the first pie video. I was at Ace Hardware buying paint because I was working on a project for my room, and I saw they had pies in the front,” he says.

“I looked to my friend and I said, ‘This is probably the funniest video I’ll ever make,’ and she didn’t really get it at the time,” he continues, adding that he went back to the store alone the next day for the pie he couldn’t get off his mind. “Now I’m doing this.”

But, perhaps controversially, he isn’t “the biggest fan of pie,” he says. “I prefer other desserts.”

Why Does Ace Hardware Sell Pies?

Ace Hardware says it started selling the pies in Ripon, California, where the maker, The Pie Company, is based.

“We began carrying them in our store because our customers loved them, and word spread quickly,” Chris Swanson, president and owner of Strand Ace Hardware in Ripon, California, tells TODAY.com, adding that, as a co-op hardware store, a “special thing” is that each store has the flexibility to carry products of its choosing.

If a pie could "fall off the bone," this strawberry rhubarb pie would be doing just that.
If a pie could “fall off the bone,” this strawberry rhubarb pie would be doing just that.Joseph Lamour / TODAY

“Sometimes, that leads to unexpected favorites, like pies,” he says. “It’s been pretty amazing to watch something so local spark this much excitement.”

“Although I initially wasn’t sure how pies would perform in a hardware store, they have been a huge hit,” he adds. “We shared the success of the idea with other Ace owners, and it has proven to be a great fit for them as well.”

Where Are Ace’s Pies Sold?

Unfortunately, not all Ace Hardware stores sell pies. The pastries are limited to its locations in California and Nevada.

Aside from its Ace presence, The Pie Company also sells its wares in fruit stands and some grocery stores in the same states. You can find specific locations through the company’s convenient online pie tracker.

Are Ace’s Pies Any Good?

Strawberry rhubarb pie and a scoop of French vanilla ice cream are a match made in heaven.
Strawberry rhubarb pie and a scoop of French vanilla ice cream are a match made in heaven.Joseph Lamour / TODAY

I live in neither California nor Nevada, so Ace Hardware graciously sent me two pies: apricot and strawberry rhubarb. Baking the latter, my home smelled marvelous. I wish these words were scratch-and-sniff.

The fruity goo bubbled in the cracks like sweet, sugary magma, which was a feast for the eyes, but the taste was even better. Tartness in the front gives in to the sweetness of the strawberry. With the egg wash and sugar on top, the crust has a crunch that can’t be beat.

I’d certainly buy it again — if only it were sold nearby.