There is something to say about a mother and daughter bond that blooms into a beautiful friendship. It is a relationship that takes years to cultivate, strength to persevere and patience to endure. The journey may be tough, but along the way an amazing relationship is built in the process. That is exactly what Debi and Julie Dugger have. As a mother and daughter pair, the two decided to take their relationship to the next level and become business partners. The decision wasn’t sudden, but had been pondered upon for many years. At the age of eight, Julie and her mother Debi were inspired while enjoying lunch at the Yesterday Café just outside Hard Labor Creek State Park to one day open a business of their own. As the years passed by, it became something for the mother and daughter to dream about and in the fall of 2007, it became a reality with the opening of Pie in the Sky.

After growing up in Knoxville, Debi Dugger, a true Tennessee Volunteer moved to Georgia to devote thirty years as a teacher in Cobb County. As retirement approached in the spring of 2007, Debi decided it was time to start her second career, thus came Pie in the Sky. In her spare moments, Debi can be found spending time with her family, her beloved dachshund, reading cookbooks, gardening and lounging at her cabin in Big Canoe, Georgia. She has been happily married to the love of her life for 27 years. Debi and her husband Smitty Dugger, have two children Julie and James. As a survivor of two bouts of cancer, Debi’s family will proudly admit, she is the strongest of them all, the glue that binds them together.

Julie Dugger grew up in Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Consumer Journalism. After interning for a public relations firm in London, she joined the corporate world in the hospitality industry as a part of the sales teams for both Marriott and Wolfgang Puck Catering at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia. She has a deep passion for traveling, being outdoors, the delicious world of gourmet, and a true love for animals. Leaving the corporate world to entertain her more creative side has given her life great meaning and a daily challenge to excel. Growing up around her father’s family owned and operated construction business, Shady Vent Aluminum Products, has given Julie the drive to succeed as a small business owner herself. Her mother, Debi, has always been an inspiration to her, not only as a mother, but as a best friend and now a business partner. Above all, faith is a very important part in the lives of the Dugger family and the number one value they hope to pass down to the generations to come.