High Country Pie

Dessert, eCommerce, Restaurant Sites

Status:
Online
Client:
PopMenu
Established:
2025
URL:
highcountrypie.com
Location:
NC, USA
Project Scope:
Website Dev & Design, UX Strategy, OLO Integration, Catering Funnel

Project Overview

Savory Pies in the Blue Ridge Mountains

High Country Pie brings a unique concept to Banner Elk: New Zealand-style savory pot pies in a quick-service setting. With a compact dine-in space, the business model relies heavily on digital efficiency—specifically takeout orders and catering. The owners needed a digital presence that conveyed a "modern-rustic / industrial-chic" mountain vibe without feeling dark or heavy, all while preparing for future expansions like a beer garden and merchandise line.

The mission was to build a mobile-first revenue engine from scratch. We needed to create a site that felt fast and dynamic to match the "adventure" lifestyle of the area, integrating seamless online ordering and robust catering funnels even before the client had their professional photography ready.

Challenges & Goals

The Challenges

Visual Constraints: The client had no professional photography available at launch but required a visually dynamic site. Additionally, they had a strict "no script fonts" rule and a centered-logo navigation requirement that challenged standard layouts.

Revenue Dependency: With limited seating, the website had to aggressively drive Online Ordering (OLO) and Catering leads to sustain the business model.

Brand Balance: The aesthetic needed to walk a fine line between "rugged mountain" and "clean industrial" without drifting into dark, heavy tones.

The Goals

Design Engineering: Implement Custom SCSS animations (fade-ins, grayscale-to-color hovers) to add movement and interest without relying on heavy video assets.

Typography Strategy: Utilize a modern stack (Oswald, Imbue, Hind) to achieve the requested industrial look while ensuring high readability on mobile devices.

Scalable Architecture: Build a modular system with placeholder grids that allow the client to swap in real photos, merch pages, and event banners seamlessly as the business grows.

Strategy & Approach

Phase 1: Industrial-Chic Aesthetics

We moved away from dark mountain tropes, opting for a Light Background (#f5f7f8) punctuated by assertive brand accents. We solved the photography gap by curating high-resolution top-down stock shots of table scenes, styled to match the brand's vibe, creating a professional look instantly while waiting for the real assets.

Phase 2: The Animation Layer

To give the site the requested "movement" without bloating load times, I wrote Custom SCSS mixins. These included subtle fade-in slides on load and an inner-frame border reveal on buttons. This lightweight code approach creates a premium, interactive feel that keeps the user engaged.

Phase 3: Conversion Engineering

We embedded Popmenu OLO into a custom "Order Online" route, applying scoped CSS to ensure the third-party widget matched the site's fonts and colors perfectly. Simultaneously, we built a smart Catering inquiry form with conditional logic to qualify leads (date, headcount) before they reached the kitchen.

Solutions Delivered

Area	Highlight
Visual Design	Crafted a custom SCSS theme with a centered logo navigation and "Industrial-Chic" typography (Oswald/Hind) to match the brand vision.
Commerce Integration	Seamlessly embedded Popmenu OLO with custom styling overrides to ensure a consistent brand experience during checkout.
Catering Funnel	Developed a robust inquiry form with conditional logic to capture and qualify 18-22 leads per month efficiently.
Interactive UX	Implemented lightweight SCSS animations (grayscale-to-color hover, slide-ins) to add dynamism without impacting performance.
Asset Strategy	Deployed a "Placeholder Grid" system populated with curated stock imagery, allowing for an immediate launch with a plan for future swaps.