A pie for every palate at The Cravery

If you thought pies were a thing of the past, a new Bella Terra restaurant sets you right on the crust.

The Cravery, a restaurant and bakery, sits across from the Cheesecake Factory, close to the Century theaters in the mall.

The Cravery is offering gourmet pies in 16 different flavors, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“It’s really very tasty,” said Patrick Kennedy, a return customer at The Cravery and local resident. Kennedy was finishing up a creamy chicken and mushroom pot pie, which he emphasized several times was “very good.”

Kennedy said it was his 12-year-old daughter Maya who brought him back for more.

The restaurant opened at Bella Terra in January and since then has been doing brisk business, said Tania Konishi, vice president of marketing for the Gardena-based restaurant chain.

Cravery Chief Executive Brian Khoddam has lived close to the beach all his life and believes the “laid-back beach mentality lends itself to people trying out something new and different.”

And having heard about Bella Terra, a Mediterranean-themed open-air mall, Khoddam wanted very much to be a part of “the amazing beautiful development.”

The restaurant has been offering samples since it opened, which really helped to attract customers, said Hannah Ray, manager at the Huntington Beach location.

The restaurant has continued offering tastes to passersby. All the pies are priced at about $5, with salads priced at about $7.

That’s what drew Kennedy and his daughter to the restaurant the first time around.

The pies “tasted really fresh, with fresh ingredients,” said Kathy Brandes, another local eating lunch at the restaurant.

Next on her agenda was to try the restaurant’s bakery section, starting with a box of The Cravery’s mini double-chocolate cookies.

The pot pies are made from all-natural ingredients, with no trans fat, preservatives or MSG, Konishi said.

“We bake all the pies from scratch and on a daily basis,” she said. The pies are based on the concept of world flavors and fusion cuisine, offering options such as Kung Pao chicken, green Thai curry chicken and vegetable curry.