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tling his natural barrel dills, the
Bormans were happy to sign on.
At about the same time, Harry
offered them to Sid Hiller, who took
on the line without hesitation.
Topor's has been a customer favorite
at Hiller's Shopping Center Markets
ever since.
"They taste like pickles your
grandmother would make at home,"
says Sid Hiller today. "Topor's is our
best seller, the best pickle in the
United States." Ron Forman, owner
of the Oak Park Bread Basket Deli,
has been serving Topor's dills to his
customers just as long, since the place
was still called the Nosherie.
"I took them as soon as Harry
offered them. They're the best pickles
around," confirms Forman. "Their
quality is consistent. My customers
love 'em." About 15 years ago Larry
got the brand into Kroger "by knock-
ing on doors. No friendly inside con-
tacts," he says.
The retail side of the business,
which also includes numerous special-
ty stores like Westborn Fruit Market,
Produce Palace, Oak Ridge Market,
Nino Salvaggio and others, makes up
about half the business. The other
half is restaurants, bars and delis,
including Bread Basket, Deli Unique,
Stage Door, Star Deli, Vineyards,
Alvin's, Lou's, Buddy's, Mr. Pita's,
Little Daddy's, Embers, Taylor AC,
New York Bagel, Amir's, Steve's Deli
and many more.
But Topor's product line is limited.
Their best-seller is the Natural Barrel
pickle, which is naturally fermented in
the secret-ingredient brine for several
weeks. "Like fine wine," I a rry says.
Topor's 10,000-square-foot cooler holds
hundreds of barrels of fermenting pick-
les. The result? Mellow but strong, full-
bodied, loaded with flavor — maybe
the best pickle in the world.
Their second-best seller is New
Dill Spears, sometimes called
"overnight" pickles. These are packed
in a solution of vinegar and spices, .
and need no aging. They get shipped
immediately.

On The Grow

Over the years, Larry has added to
the basic line. Now there are also
Hot Natural Dills (naturally fer-
mented, but with an extra pepper
kick), Golden Dills, Green Dill
Tomatoes, "Sweet Julie" Red
Peppers (named for one of his
daughters), and Dill Hot Hungarian
Banana Peppers.
"Where do you get your cucum-

bers?" I ask. During the winter they
come from Mexico. .As things warm
up, shipments start arriving from
Texas, then Florida and Georgia, then
the Carolinas. By July, the Michigan
harvest is coming in, and that lasts 'til
September. Then shipments start
from the south again.
"How many cucumbers do you
buy?" Larry rubs his chin, thinking.
"Between 15 and, uh, 35,000
bushels," he says.
"That's a pretty big spread. Can't
you narrow it down?" I press.
"I'd rather not give that informa-
tion," he says with a little smile.
"Did the pickle business make
your dad rich?" "Not rich," he says.
"He made a good living. I do too."
Larry and his wife Karen, and their
three daughters, Jessica, Julie and
Jennifer, live comfortably in the sub-
urbs.
"Do you like being in pickles?" "I
love what I do. My older brother and
sister weren't interested in the pickle
business. They were smarter than I
was," Larry says, as if the pickle busi-
ness was his fate.
He has a staff of seven. Three are
truck drivers. Everyone else shares the
rest of the duties — grading, clean-
ing, shlepping. Bottling is done by
hand on a table about 10 feet long
and three feet wide.
There is no sales staff, no market-
ing department, no accounting
department. There is virtually no
advertising or promotion. As we talk,
Larry endorses checks, fills in num-
bers in a tattered notebook, shuffles a
few papers.
.
"No computer," I observe.
"No computer and no fax. All the
salt in the air corrodes metal," he
explains.
"Any plans for growth?" I ask.
"I'd like to grow, spread out a little
geographically." Right now, you can
only find Topor's in the Detroit _
area.
Larry is also developing a new
product, but won't say what it is.
"Keeping quality high is the most
important thing. I won't expand if I
can't maintain our standards."
When I leave, I am lowered to
ground level by a prehistoric freight
elevator. In my head, I carry the
memory of that intoxicating smell.
But in my hand I carry a cold quart
jar. A gift from Larry Topor.
As I drive home, thinking about
that jar of Natural Barrel dills riding
on the seat beside me, my mouth
begins to water. ❑

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