All it took was one bite. Lee and Jessica Williamson were visiting family in the Outer Banks when Jessica’s mother served key lime pie for dessert.
“It was the first time we ever had key lime pie,” Jessica recalls.
It wouldn’t be the last. The dessert inspired Coastal Key Lime Pie, the business they now run at the beach.
Initially, the Williamsons simply sought to replicate the flavor of that first slice.
“She somehow did everything right,” Lee says of his mother-in-law. “It was a one-of-a-kind, magical recipe.”
Back in Delaware, they searched for the perfect key lime pie but couldn’t find one they liked.
Key lime pie is synonymous with the Florida Keys, although its origin is debated. Key West tradition credits a cook known as Aunt Sally with creating it in the late 1800s. However, the likely precursor is Borden’s 1931 Magic Lemon Cream Pie. Florida cooks likely adapted that recipe using local key limes. In 2006, key lime pie became Florida’s official state pie.
The Williamsons decided to make the pie themselves. For nearly two years, they tested juices, graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk and other ingredients. Family and friends served as the jury.
Finally, they had a recipe that worked.
The finished pie features a handmade graham cracker and coconut crust, creamy key lime filling and fresh whipped topping. Jessica describes it as a refreshing dessert that’s perfect for hot days at the beach.
“A slice doesn’t weigh you down,” Lee adds.
They realized they had the makings of a business.
The couple, who moved from New Castle County to Milton in 2019, began selling their pies at farmers markets in 2023. They were among the first businesses to benefit from the Sussex County Kitchen Incubator, which soft-launched that spring at Delaware Tech’s Owens Campus in Georgetown.
Tomato Sunshine in Rehoboth Beach and Lloyd’s Market in Lewes agreed to carry the pies, launching the wholesale side of the business. Irish Eyes became the first restaurant partner. Today, about 40 restaurants and retailers sell Coastal Key Lime Pie products.
The company continues to appear at farmers markets in Nassau, Milton and Georgetown.
“It’s also an important part of how we connect with the community,” Jessica says of the markets.
They also sell pies at the Creative Market in Rehoboth Beach and at select Freeman Arts Pavilion concerts.
The product line has expanded to include a gluten-free mini pie and a slice dipped in Ghirardelli dark chocolate and served on a stick. The company also ships nationwide.
At the end of 2024, the Williamsons opened a stationary food truck in a Route 1 food truck court in Rehoboth Beach. The setup allows them to sell directly to customers without the overhead of a traditional storefront.
They also own a commercial kitchen in Seaford, a distressed property that Lee renovated using skills from his former career in construction and home remodeling. Jessica previously ran a human resources consulting business. Today, both work full time for Coastal Key Lime Pie.
The business has grown from batches of about 60 pies to hundreds each week during the summer. Their two sons and several part-time employees help with production, deliveries, farmers markets and the food truck.
The Williamsons’ goal is to make Coastal Key Lime Pie part of the beach ritual, alongside longtime favorites visitors seek out every vacation, like Grotto Pizza, Thrasher’s French Fries and Nicola Pizza’s Nic-o-Boli.
“We hope one day we can be part of that,” Lee says.
