The article appears on Cityroom.com, and it mentions the Grand Traverse Pie Company – the group stopped in for sandwiches and pie after their tour.

Thanks, Debi, for stopping by!

John Ball Zoo
Where else can you see more than 1,100 animals of more than 230 species, walk through lush gardens, and stretch your legs in a beautiful urban park? Here you can see the largest alligator outside of Florida, babboons, chimpanzees, spider monkeys, exotic birds, and much more. One of the neatest attractions is an Australian walk though exhibit that features Wallabies and Budgies. The wallabies, if they want to, can come out in the walk way to be petted! This is a great place for children, especially young ones who’ll love seeing animals that can be seen in few places in the United States. John Ball Zoo is located at the corner of Fulton and Valley, just west of downtown Grand Rapids. The Zoo is only two miles west of downtown Grand Rapids and there’s easy access from the I-196 expressway.

Visit http://www.johnballzoosociety.org

Grand Rapids Public Museum
Did you know Grand Rapids is home to one of the oldest history museums in the United States? The Grand Rapids Public Museum was founded in 1854 as the “Grand Rapids Lyceum of Natural History”, and is now known by most locals as the “Van Andel”, though the Van Andel Museum Center is just one part of this attraction. Located downtown on the banks of the river on Pearl Street. Permanent exhibits include “The Furniture City”, “Habitats”, and “Collecting A through Z” (a dazzling collection of stuff people collect). The kids (young and young at heart) will enjoy a ride on the 1928 Spillman Carousel. Also, you won;t want to miss the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium.

Visit http://www.grmuseum.org

Grand Rapids Symphony
How about some art and culture? GR has that too in the form of one of the oldest continually running symphonies in the country. For more than 75 years, the GR Symphony has served western Michigan, and they even performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2005. The Symphony presents eight concert series intended for young children through adults year round, and they present more than 400 performances each year, nearly half of which benefit students, senior citizens, and people with disabilities. Later this month, the Symphony will present “Two Brandenburgs” and “Wacky, Way Out Instruments”, a concert aimed at the entire family that will feature odd musical instruments like the bagpipes, typewriter, and cell phone.

Visit http://www.grsymphony.org

B.O.B.’s Brewery
This trendy brewery rests on the bottom floor of The B.O.B. (which stands for Big Old Building), located downtown on Monroe Street. This 70,000-square-foot, four- story, red brick building is truly a part of Grand Rapids history. It was constructed in 1903 when it served as Judson’s grocery warehouse. Now, The B.O.B. hosts a night club, comedy club, restaurants, gift shops, and the brewery. No matter what your taste bugs crave, you’ll find it here: Asian cuisine, Mexican cuisine, American fare, fresh brews, and martinis. There’s almost always a party going on somewhere and it’s conveniently loacted near other downtown attractions.

Visit http://www.thebob.com

Ecosystem Preserve at Calvin College Campus
Get outside with your family or friends or take a run on the wonderfully manicured trails of this preserve in Grand Rapids, adjacent to the campus of Calvin College. One of the lesser-known attractions in Grand Rapids, this preserve is located on more than 100 acres of land. The Ecosystem Preserve wraps itself around the headwaters of a local stream, Whiskey Creek, which flows through Calvin’s east campus, and is the source of water for the Seminary Pond. Its varied environment hosts about 100 bird species each year, with approximately 60 that nest within its boundaries. Especially for locals, this is an excellent place to get in touch with nature. Less than three miles away from the Grand Traverse Pie Co. located on 28th Street SE.

Visit http://www.calvin.edu/academic/eco-preserve

While you’re in Grand Rapids, don’t forget to visit us at our Pie Shop location >

Our Raspberries are IQF (individually quick frozen), which helps preserve the freshness of the berry. Raspberries are high in Vitamin C and K, and one of the highest fiber fruits known. Raspberries rank very high for their antioxidant content which helps fight cancer. You can find raspberries in black, red, purple and yellow varieties. They are grown on farms and can be found and picked in the wild. The raspberry plant grows 4-5 feet, have smaller thorns on the entire plant.

Buy our Raspberry Cream Pie Pie online >

Grand Traverse Pie Company Celebrates 

‘National Pie Day’  Monday January 3rd with a Michigan made celebration of pie!

Grand Traverse Pie Company will celebrate the fruits of Michigan during NATIONAL PIE DAY on Monday, January 23, 2012.  Each GT Pie Company locations will be celebrating by serving up a FREE SLICE of Michigan ABC Pie (Apple, Blueberry, Cherry) from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on ‘Pie Day’.

“We are serving Michigan fruit pie to celebrate National Pie Day, as a solute to our Michigan Business and Agriculture”  stated Mike Busley, founder of Grand Traverse Pie Company (GTPC)  ”Michigan has a great bounty of natural resources and commodities to be extremely proud of.”  Busley went on to say.

The GTPC  makes over 95% of its purchases from Michigan companies and promotes two of the State’s key ingredients- agriculture and commerce.  Michigan fruit (cherries, apples, blueberries, and strawberries) sugar, and flour all come from our State’s growers and processors, and GT Pie will drive nearly $20 million into Michigan’s economy this year.

GT Pie locations celebrating National Pie Day include:

-Ann Arbor (734) 997-9702

-Brighton (810) 225-7437

-Burton (810)742-9743

-East Lansing (517)203-3304

-Grand Rapids-Kentwood (616)977-7600

-Midland (989)839-4872

-Mt. Pleasant (989)779-2743

-Norton Shores (231)799-3399

-Okemos (517)381-7437

-Petoskey (231)348-4060

-Plymouth (734)459-9200

-Traverse City – Two locations in Downtown TC  (231)922-7437

Learn more about our salads and our menu items >

We love our fruit pies and pecan pies and cream pies too, but did you know our best seller is the chicken pot pie?

It’s true – our famous chicken pot pie is #1 on the charts – our best selling menu item. We’re proud to serve this warm, delicious, hearty pie for your pleasure, whether it be for lunch or dinner. It’s the ultimate comfort food. We also sell a Prime Rib pot pie.

The chicken pot pie is so good, it’s better than anything Mom or Grandma made. It’s filled with generous chunks of chicken and portions of vegetables, baked under our homemade pot pie crust.

If you haven’t had one yet, you’re missing out! Stop into your nearest Grand Traverse Pie Co. and order a chicken pot pie today.

See our menu >

Our deli menu includes the following sandwiches:

• Gourmet Chicken Salad
• Chicken Salad
• Chicken Pesto with Roasted Red Pepper
• Fresh Dill Tuna Salad
• Turkey with Cherry Wood Smoked Bacon
• Grand Traverse Club
• Mediterranean Veggie

And we have grilled sandwiches too!

• Lighthouse Turkey Cheddar
• Reuben
• Chicken Focaccia
• Smoked Ham & Havarti
• GT Grilled Cheese with Bacon & Tomato
• Manitou
• French Dip
• BLT
• Chicken Quesadilla

See our full menu for more details >

The college town, home to the University of Michigan, has been good to the Pie Company over the years, with the N. Zeeb Road location enjoying great success since it was opened in 2006 by owners Dave and Beth Ziegler.

The new location will offer the same core menu items as traditional Pie Co. shops, with a downtown feel of a coffee shop as well.

Check back here or Like the GT Pie Co. on Facebook to receive news about the new Ann Arbor location.

Susan M. Selasky of the Detroit Free Press recommends several options for her readers in an article published recently. She mentions the Grand Traverse Pie Co. in the article.

Read the complete article >

No one knows for sure when it started, but people have been putting pies in the faces of other people for a long time. Maybe since the first pies were baked there have been disgruntled folks around who decided to toss the creations at their enemies.

At least by the 1920s, there were vaudeville acts who specialized in pie tossing. The Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges built entire routines around the idea. By the 1960s, as civil unrest became more prominent in the United States in reaction to the war in Vietnam and Civil Rights, there were people shoving pies in the faces of their targets.

Here are five of the more famous pie tossing incidents.

1. G. Gordon Liddy
Often Conservatives have been targets of pie-throwing (though see #5 for a notable exception). Liddy was one of many who were targeted by Vietnam-era activist Aron Kay in the 1970s. The former Watergate burglar was nailed at a press conference in 1977. Liddy didn’t take too kindly to the pastry assault – he pounced on Kay. Liddy later said, “He’s lucky we weren’t in a dark alley.”

2. Calvin Klein
How does a tofu creme pie look with a designer t-shirt and jeans? Famed designer Calvin Klein should know after he was nailed with a pie at a fashion awards show in 2011. Klein was targeted by anti-fur activists. The fashion icon enjoyed the rest of his evening, albeit with morsels of tofu on his outfit.

3. Bill Gates
This was one of the most celebrated pieing incidents perpetrated by famous “pie thrower” Noel Godin, a Belgian writer, critic, and actor. He apparently targeted Gates because the software billionaire was getting too “haughty”. As Gates entered a meeting hosted by Flemish Minister and President Van den Brande in Brussels, Godin stepped forward and tossed creme pies in his face. When he was finished, Godin reportedly said, “My work is finished here.” Gates was startled but tried to react casually later, saying, “The pie just wasn’t all that good.” Godin claims his goal has long been to “entarte” as many people like Gates as possible – people he feels are particularly self-important and lacking a sense of humor. Since 1969, when Godin planted a cream pie on the face of the French novelist Marguerite Duras, he has cream-pied dozens more, including choreographer Maurice Béjart, France’s best-known television anchorman Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and film maker Jean-Luc Godard.

4. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden
Even royalty can be targets! While visiting a bird sanctuary in his native Sweden in 2001, King Carl and his entourage were surprised when a 16-year old boy squeezed through the crowd and tossed a strawberry tart in the monarch’s face. It was a direct hit. The King wasn’t hurt, but certainly embarrassed. Adding to the embarrassment, the King’s wife, Queen Silvia, helped wrestle the boy to the ground. The King did not comment on the quality of the pie.

5. U.S. Senator Carl Levin
The longtime Senator from Michigan was in his home state meeting citizens in Big Rapids in 2010 at a popular deli, when a woman approached and pelted him with a dutch apple pie. “She took the pie in both hands and slammed it in his face,” said an onlooker. According to authorities, the incident was an anti-war demonstration for the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Levin was fine, and the woman was quickly whisked away in a police car. “Amazingly, he was quite gentlemanly and kept his composure and was fairly good nattered about it,” said the owner of the deli.