Comfort Food

COURTESY OF GREAT LAKES POT PIE

NOSH

EATS | DRINKS | SWEETS

Jannie Teitelbaum holds one of her signature pies.

Comfort Food

Turning a childhood treat into a thriving pot pie destination. “I SPENT A LOT OF TIME READING TONS AND TONS OF RECIPES.”

— JANNIE TEITELBAUM

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Growing up, Jannie Teitelbaum had a love for chicken pot pies. Now, she’s transformed one of her favorite childhood foods into a successful business headquartered in Clawson.

Great Lakes Pot Pie, which opened last April during the pandemic, serves up fresh pot pies in a variety of flavors. From classic chicken to meatball, each handmade pie is crafted with locally sourced ingredients. The pies even come in gluten-free or vegan versions, and as bitesize pie chips that range from savory to sweet. There’s also chocolate pecan pie up for grabs.

It was a business idea that was born by accident. Teitelbaum, who is originally from New York and previously lived in Virginia before moving to Bloomfield Hills in 2009, was part of a women’s group where each member would bring a signature dish. For the Jewish entrepreneur, who has also previously launched an art business, she decided to bake a pie to share with the group.

“I baked a pie one night and somebody said, ‘This is really good!’” Teitelbaum, 60, recalls. “So, she ordered one and said, ‘Are you doing it as a business?’ And I said, ‘I guess I am.’”

The original recipe was one that Teitelbaum spent six months perfecting. “I spent a lot of time reading tons and tons of recipes,” she recalls. She considered seasonings, the amount of chicken broth, levels of butter and many other processes that go into baking a perfect pot pie. Most importantly, though, aside from flavor, was that the pies needed to hold their shape.

“When you eat a small personal-sized pie, you dig into it with a spoon or fork,” Teitelbaum said. “When you have a big pie, you cut a slice, so you have to make sure that it’s not too liquidy or the whole thing will implode.”

After trial-and-error, Teitelbaum finally settled on a winning recipe in September 2015. She knew it was a hit when her then17-year-old son Steven, who served as pie taste-tester, exclaimed that it was the one. The Teitelbaum family began selling the pot pies at Royal Oak Farmers Market, where they started to see many people lining up to purchase their pies each weekend.

For Teitelbaum, who was considering retiring, she originally decided to take it easy and only make a handful of pies throughout the week. Yet, seeing the success and interest her pies rolled in inspired her to take the idea one step further. Rather than baking out of a commercial kitchen at a church, where she previously made her pies, she decided to seek out her own retail space.

GROWING IN CLAWSON

About two years ago, she found Great Lakes Pot Pie’s current location in Clawson and worked to secure the lease over the course of a year. Finally, by the time the pandemic hit, she was ready to open her business, named after her love for all things local. While many restaurant businesses struggled throughout this time, Teitelbaum found an unexpected silver lining: People were seeking out frozen foods, and it turned out pot pies were both easy to freeze and heat up.

“We did really well,” she remembers. “Each week we got busier and busier.” Teitelbaum was able to build the business at her own pace, thanks to the pandemic slowing down foot traffic and the restaurant industry in general. She wouldn’t have had it any other way, though, because it allowed her space and time to figure out exactly how her pot pie business would look.

Now, Great Lakes Pot Pie has 12 employees. They’re continuing to grow, with both of Teitelbaum’s sons, Matthew and Steven, helping her run the operation. They’ve even expanded to begin offering local delivery and shipping nationwide. Teitelbaum also took over the lease next door to the pie shop, which she plans to turn into a production space where passersby can watch pies being made through the glass windows.

Eventually, she’d like to serve up her favorite childhood dish at more than one location. “I want the pies to be in grocery stores, maybe some specialty stores,” Teitelbaum says.

In the meantime, though, she’ll continue pouring her love into each pie that goes out the Clawson door.

“I taste every single batch of chicken that gets made,” she continues. “I have to get that memory when I taste it that reminds me why I love chicken pot pie so much. It’s really important, and I think people can tell when they eat our pie, because it’s the right flavor.”

Order pot pies at greatlakespotpies.com.

Visit Israel Virtually From Home

Financial Literacy Awareness Month

CLARA SILVER

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

The Israel Experience: Don’t Leave Home to Visit, hosted by the Israel Center at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor, will take participants on the tour of a lifetime without ever having to leave the comfort of home from May 9-16.

The “trip” to Israel is shaping up to be a mosaic of historical and modern, including a “walking” tour of Jerusalem, a deep dive into the street art of Tel Aviv and a cooking workshop with an Arab Israeli chef.

A full day of programs with Ann Arbor’s sister community, Moshav Nahalal, is also in the works, including a cheesemaking workshop highlighting the moshav’s dairy farm and a dance class for kids and adults of all ages.

Take a run “through” Nahalal or try kabbalistic meditation “in” Tzfat. Supplies will be provided for pick up in Ann Arbor for hands-on workshops. Journeys International is the tour organizer. Each activity will cost a reduced rate of $18, or an all-inclusive rate of $180 for the entire event, thanks to the sponsorship of the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation. Information and registration are at jccannarbor.org or register at (734) 971-0990.

April is National Financial Literacy Awareness Month. The purpose of this month is to highlight the importance of gaining practical money management skills and support systems for teaching Americans how to establish and maintain positive, healthy financial habits.

This year, in honor of National Financial Literacy Awareness Month, Bloom Advisors is offering webinars on a wide range of topics that are free and open to the public.

The seminars include “Taking Control of your Finances” 6 p.m. April 1; “Back to Basics: Savings and Investing 101” 6 p.m. April 13; “Financial Wellness for Women” 6 p.m. April 15; “Let’s Talk Retirement: Everything You Need to Know About Managing Your Portfolio and Income Needs in Retirement” 6 p.m. April 20; “Estate Planning 101: Leaving A Financial Legacy and Protecting Those You Love” 6 p.m. April 22; “Millennials & Money: Setting Yourself Up for Success” 6 p.m. April 27; and “Your Financial Questions Answered!” 6 p.m. April 29.

To register, visit the seminar page at bloomadvisors. com/seminars.