APRIL 8 • 2021 | 29

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 through-
out 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 slow-
ing 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 produc-
tion 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 chick-
en 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

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 com-
munity, 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 kabbalis-
tic 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-in-
clusive 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 reg-
ister 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 sup-
port systems for teaching 
Americans how to estab-
lish 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 sem-
inar page at bloomadvisors.
com/seminars. 

CLARA SILVER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS