A northern Michigan staple will be found in our neck of the woods when Marquee Marque Pasties opens for business in Clinton Township.
Owner Mark Yearkey, a fifth-generation pasty maker, is preparing to unveil the bakery at 43261 Garfield, in the campus plaza on the northwest corner of 19 Mile and Garfield.
The bakery will offer a variety of pasty flavors, ranging from traditional beef to vegetarian. Customers will be able to buy their pasties hot, cold or frozen.
An opening date has yet to be determined, but the owner said he hopes to gain access to the property this month.
“This property in the campus plaza, which formerly was a working pizzeria, came up to our attention when the equipment was included and it is centralized more in the center of Macomb County,” Yearkey said.
The space, formerly occupied by Applewood Pizza, is equipped with dine-in seating and WiFi, he added. Carry-outs are also available.
Yearkey describes the pasty as “a pot pie without the pot.” He started selling them six years ago and has opened Marquee Marque Pasties locations in Sterling Heights and New Baltimore.
“(We) started out at the beginning of the great recession in 2007,” he said. “Through hard work and determination, we have been able to continue serving a good old-fashioned meal at a reasonably low price.”
Beef pasties are made hot every day, while chicken is served hot Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“Beef is the traditional pasty type, made with ground beef, potatoes, carrots, rutabaga and onions wrapped in a delicious thin crust,” Yearkey explained. “The chicken pasty is made with chopped chicken breast, potato, carrot and onion with a hint of garlic.”
The bakery also offers a smoked kielbasa pasty, as well as a vegetarian option. All individual pasties cost less than $5 each.
Yearkey noted the pasty’s popularity among local seniors: “Seniors love them because they know the history of them and have enjoyed making them at home when they were younger.”
Beef and chicken mini-pasties, which are one-third the size of the original, are sold frozen in packs of two for $3.59.
Most pasties sold at the bakery are cold or frozen, Yearkey added. The bakery’s website provides directions for reheating them at home in the oven or microwave.
Apple, cherry and blueberry pasty-shaped fruit pies are also available.
“And if things get busy enough, we can always start baking other things too, including cupcakes, cookies and bread rolls,” the owner said.
Pasties arrived in the Upper Peninsula in the 1800s when Cornish tin miners came hoping to find prosperity in the newly developing mines.
“To many people in the Upper Peninsula, the pasty is much more than food, it is an identifying cultural mark that gives them their own identity,” reads the bakery’s website.
Find out more about Marquee Marque Pasties at mmpasties.com.
