(Photo by Aiden Kororkin courtesy of Dangerously Delicious Pies)

Music is baked into the DNA of Dangerously Delicious Pies. Years before the first shop opened in Baltimore, founder Rodney Henry practiced his piecraft while he was on the road with his band, The Glenmont Popes, and sold pies to make money. Now the Dangerously Delicious Pies team is combining those two specialities with a new music venue and rooftop above its late-night H Street shop.

The Pie Shop opened quietly in mid-July with a performance from Hillbilly Casino (The Glenmont Popes opened, of course). The 60-70 person capacity venue is a space for smaller local artists to perform—an opportunity that’s lacking in D.C. these days, says co-owner Sandra Basanti.

“When I first moved here, I was a regular at The Red & The Black just up the road on H Street,” Basanti tells DCist. Back then, “there seemed to be a lot more smaller rooms that catered more to local acts and not just touring acts. There are only really a handful of us left in D.C., those under-100-person capacity rooms.”

Local-focused is the only guideline Basanti tries to stick to as she books the shows: She says she’s not interested in being exclusive to any particular genre. Her upcoming lineup includes a 10th anniversary show for the D.C. punk band Copstabber, a double bill of Baltimore indie punks Sister Ex and D.C. pop punks Ménage À Garage, and Baltimore rock band Western Star.

Opening a music venue has always been a pie in the sky (sorry) dream for the Dangerously Delicious team. Since opening the H Street location in 2009, they’ve hosted a few smaller shows in the cozy downstairs shop, but have always wanted just a little more space. Basanti and her co-owner husband, Stevie McKeever, spent three years on construction (McKeever built the stage himself) and permitting to turn the second floor into a fully-fledged venue, not just a bar that hosts shows.

“We didn’t create the space to be some kind of gritty, grungy kind of rock bar, it wasn’t like that,” Basanti says. “I want to have a nice place for bands to come and play where the sounds are top-notch.”

To that end, they recruited sound engineer Dennis Manuel (“the best sound engineer on the East Coast,” Basanti says) and lighting designer Charles Coates, who she says took time out of his current lighting gig on the Wonder Woman sequel to work on The Pie Shop.

When there’s not a band on stage, the bar will still be open, with a list of more than 50 beers and a healthy whiskey selection. Basanti also says they’re planning on a few seasonal cocktails. And yes, you can bring any of Dangerously Delicious’ savory or sweet pies upstairs to enjoy at the bar. The roof deck just outside, decorated with string lights and a light-up “PIE SHOP” sign, seats 40.

McKeever, an Arsenal F.C. fan, also has big plans to host soccer and football watch parties at The Pie Shop. Basanti is more interested in hosting Bravo nights, with viewing parties for the Real Housewives franchise and Watch What Happens Live. She’s also hoping to stage regular comedy nights, and is considering hosting a kids rock show on Saturdays. “As a parent [I know] you need something to kill a couple hours on like a Saturday or something,” she says.

Basanti has tons of big plans for the venue that are in the air, but one thing she’s sure of: She doesn’t want her and McKeever to be strangers around The Pie Shop.

“We’re not faceless, nameless venue owners. We’re here getting our hands dirty and creating the relationships,” she says. “We literally are a mom and pop!”

The Pie Shop (1339 H St. NE) is open 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-3 a.m. Friday-Saturday