28 | APRIL 8 • 2021
G
rowing up, Jannie Teitelbaum had a love for chicken pot
pies. Now, she’s transformed one of her favorite child-
hood foods into a successful business headquartered in
Clawson.
Great Lakes Pot Pie, which opened last April during the pan-
demic, 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 bak-
ing 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 then-
17-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 through-
out 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.
NOSH
EATS | DRINKS | SWEETS
COURTESY OF GREAT LAKES POT PIE
Comfort
Jannie Teitelbaum
holds one of her
signature pies.
“I SPENT A LOT OF TIME READING
TONS AND TONS OF RECIPES.”
— JANNIE TEITELBAUM
Turning a childhood treat into a
thriving pot pie destination.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Food