WKU couple’s Boyce General Store named one of Southern Living’s best
general stores in the South
By Rose Rementer
She’s the self-proclaimed “Pie Queen,” and he jokingly calls himself the dishwasher. So the owners of the Boyce General Store, Lifetime Members Brie (’07) and Brad Golliher (’06), thought it was a joke when they heard their store was on Southern Living’s list of best general stores in the South.
“The first thing I thought was somebody is playing a joke on us,” Brad said.
“It was pretty crazy,” agreed Brie. “I actually received a message from a customer and she was like, ‘Have you seen this?’ Within the next hour I had like four emails. It was pretty cool.”
The Gollihers took over as owners of the Boyce General Store located in the Boyce community near Alvaton, Ky., in 2012. While the business has been around since 1869, fronting as many things including a tobacco stripping warehouse, it’s the Gollihers who have made it into the modern general store it is now.
“We added Friday night fish fry events, the Pickin’ on the Patio concert series and I’ve added the separate entity of the Pie Queen with homemade pies, cinnamon rolls and cookies,” said Brie.
But, if you ask Brad about the Southern Living article and why their store is so successful, he’ll say it’s all Brie. “I was proud of her and the hard work she’s put into the store and the Pie Queen,” he said. “Honestly even though we are both here, she does 90 percent of the work. What you see on social media or what you see in the books, in the paper or on TV is mostly all her.”
“He does 90 percent of the parenting though,” said Brie. “Which is 100 percent the most important part,” she said in reference to their two boys Brady, 9 and Bryce, 6.
Brad and Brie both spent four years on the Hill, with Brie graduating in 2007 with a degree in Photojournalism and Textile and Brad in 2006 with a degree in Print Advertising. Both say their studies and experiences on the Hill help them in their career.
“I was the Campus Activities Board President for two years and prior to that I was the Public Relations Director,” said Brad. “I think being involved with the Activities Board gave me the knowledge of leadership and the ability to lead a group of people with a bunch of different backgrounds and talents, and put that together to be able to create what we have going on here with the store, this brand.”
“I use my degree by taking pictures of food,” said Brie. “The season of technology we are in is so social media driven, so taking good pictures can really make or break your business. It definitely helps to have a background in that.”
As far as the future goes for the Boyce General Store, it’s all about expanding the brand and products rather than expanding locations.
“We don’t want more locations, but more exposure of the store in different ways,” said Brie. “The Pie Queen has expanded into local grocery stores and in various Whole Foods stores in Louisville and Lexington, so things like that.”
“I think the goal would be to have like our own pie crusts, our own bar-b-que seasoning or selling in more grocery stores and online,” said Brad. “I’d be more excited to say we are in two dozen Whole Foods stores instead of having more locations.”
Hilltopper@Work: Through a new Hilltoppers@Work program, the WKU Alumni Association is celebrating alumni achievements and supporting them at every phase of their careers —from finding that first job to planning for post-retirement options. To learn more, visit alumni.wku.edu/hilltoppersatwork.