MENOMINEE, MICH. – Beginning as a stand at farmers markets and local events, Tom and Jen’s Pasty Company celebrated the grand opening of their permanent location in Menominee, Mich., on Saturday, July 25.
Tom and Jen’s Pasty Company began as a way for owners and fiances Jenny Grun and Tommy Shen to combine their own passions for food and business.
Hailing from Naperville, Ill., Shen had personal experience in the restaurant industry from growing up around the business his parents owned. He furthered his knowledge in the professional world by working as a reliability engineer at PepsiCo after graduating from UW-Madison, where he met Grun.
Grun grew up around Marinette, but her family roots in Ironwood, Mich., had the most impact on her culinary techniques.
“Our pasties are inspired by a classic 1940s recipe that [my] great-grandfather, Fiore ‘Two-Bit’ Colassacco, carried with him while working in the Montreal Mines in Montreal, Wisconsin. For generations, pasties have been more than just a meal in our family. They have been a tradition,” she shared.
Together, they opened a food stand and spent last year selling pasties at farmers markets and local events.
“We were almost selling out every weekend that we would go. We were like, ‘Maybe this is something we should pursue?’ So, we were looking for a place and found this one on First Street, and then it just flourished from there.”
One benefit of the location is their having their own commercial kitchen, a change from their part-time operations.
“Whenever we made pasties I would have to go to Appleton, make the pasties, cool them, bring them to Menominee and then heat them up. It was quite the process, so it’s nice that we now have one location where we have our own kitchen and we don’t have to move everything around all of the time,” she explained.
Adding the kitchen was just one part of the renovations that Grun and Shen did to their restaurant, which was formerly a retail store. Many hours were spent making sure the location was accessible, setting up dry storage and finalizing furniture and decorations just days before the grand opening.
House made pasties, condiments and cookies are all on the menu for the brick and mortar restaurant, which Grun shared her excitement for.
She explained that the recipes have been shaped and refined over the decades, creating a product that carries classic favors as well as unique twists. Their product offerings range from the traditional beef, potato and rutabaga pasty to Grun’s own pizza pasty.
“We’re using my mom’s family’s homemade pizza sauce recipe in it. So, that has a special place in my heart because it was me originally coming up with the recipe and not using one from past family members from back in the mining days,” she said.
As Grun and Shen establish the business she hopes to incorporate more flavors of pasties and learn what the community likes best.
“Now that it’s not just a weekend thing, it’s a lot more work, [but] I’m ready and happy for the challenge,” Grun added.
Tom and Jen’s Pasty Company is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is located at 623 1st St, Menominee, Mich. For more information or to order frozen pasties, follow the business on Facebook or call (715) 775-0774.
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