Skip to main content

MB News

Best Kept Secrets: Sunday Pie at Right Tribe

Dec 13, 2018 08:55AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Editor's Note: This is one in a series of our favorite "best-kept secrets" of Manhattan Beach. Watch this space for more insider secrets. Got a Manhattan Beach secret you're willing to share? Email us at [email protected].

Walking into the Right Tribe boutique in downtown Manhattan Beach is always an experience that fills your senses - the rich smell of leather, the gentle tinkling of wind chimes, and the sparkle of crystals. But if you walk in on a Sunday morning, you'll also be greeted with the aroma and taste of fresh homemade pie. 

Pie? Yes, pie. Free pie, in fact. It's just one of the fun and quirky things that Right Tribe owners Lauren Kolodny and Johnny Flanagan do to make Right Tribe special. Starting at 11:00 a.m. every Sunday, they serve up their trademark apple-raspberry pie to all comers. 

"I think because we're so hidden in the alley, it's kind of a way to communicate with people," says Kolodny. "If someone stops in during the week, we say, 'Hey - come back on Sunday for some pie.' And people always love pie."

Kolodny and Flanagan are so dedicated to making their pie each week that Kolodny jokes that their friends have learned not to ask them to go out on Saturday nights.

In fact, the only week they've missed making the pie was on one of the hottest weekends over the summer when their oven malfunctioned. And the next morning, when regulars came in looking for the pie, Flanagan said he had to tell them, "I swear - it's not because it was too hot - it's because the oven broke."

And the pie? It's delicious - not too sweet, not syrup-y. Just a perfect mix of apples and raspberries in a beautiful ombre pattern, which is somehow fitting for Right Tribe.

The Little Shop in the Alley

Right Tribe is known for its unique collection of curated gifts and collectibles, geodes and crystals, and handmade leather goods. While the gallery is tucked away in a small space on Center Place (behind Splendid), visitors are often lured in by a wildly decorated bike that sits across the street at the parking garage. 

Kolodny and Flanagan met while working on film sets, him as a production designer and her as a costume designer. They opened the first Right Tribe studio in fall 2016 on Manhattan Ave., and then six months later opened up in their current location on Center Place.

"It's an awesome space in that it's really centrally located, but it's got a little sense of discovery too," said Flanagan.

While they are perhaps best known for their leather visors, they also have a dedicated following of fans of their crystals and geodes (they host an annual geode cracking party). They also host leather-working workshops either as individual lessons or private parties.

Right Tribe is located at 328 Center Place in Manhattan Beach. 310-921-8494.

Subscribe to MB News Emails * Don't Miss a Thing, Sign Up Today!

* indicates required
Email Format

Subscribe to MB News Emails * Don't Miss a Thing, Sign Up Today!

* indicates required
Email Format