Press Releases
Pie – Accelerates Its Growth: A Slice Of The Michigan Economy
Grand Traverse Pie Company Opens FOUR New Locations
Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Troy and Terre Haute, Indiana
All To Be Open by September, 2007
(Traverse City, Michigan) – June, 2007 – Grand Traverse Pie Company is growing a SLICE of the Michigan Economy. Grand Traverse Pie Company (GTPC) continues to grow with four new locations currently under construction Michigan and Indiana. These shops are expected to be open by September of this year. The Michigan based company currently operates nine Pie Shop/Bakery Café franchises across both Northern and Lower Michigan, with Grand Rapids opening June 25, and Terre Haute, Indiana opening in early August. The GTPC Troy location and new corporate training center pie shop in East Lansing follow closely behind in September. It also has firm agreements for another 15 additional Michigan locations. Several out-of-state locations in Indiana, Ohio, Colorado, North and South Carolina, Texas, and Arizona are currently being considered; further promoting Michigan and its native products throughout the United States. GTPC will drive an economic impact of over $25 million to Michigan this year alone.
The Importance of Pie to the Michigan Economy:
- Employing over 500 "Michiganders" by the end of 2007.
- The company uses ONLY Michigan fruits – Cherries, Apples, and Blueberries – Over 1 Million Pounds of fruit will be utilized in 2007.
- $15 million in gross sales in its Michigan wide system.
- Michigan companies growing together! GTPC partners with multiple other Michigan companies to support their growth objectives. Family owned companies including Smeltzer Orchard Company in Frankfort, Food for Thought of Honor, Stafford Smith of Kalamazoo, Lipari Foods of Warren, and Alfie Embroidery of Traverse City.
"The agriculture economic impact alone is significant not only to Northern Michigan, but the entire state", stated GTPC creator Mike Busley. "Michigan is the Grand Traverse Pie Company’s discriminator. Our customers not only are loyal to us because of our hand-crafted pies and well prepared café cuisine, but because we are passionate about growing in Michigan!
GTPC has built a Michigan destination on pie…great cherry pie from the Grand Traverse Region. But now, visitors enjoy a café filled with fresh baked breakfast quiche, lunch time salads, soups, and sandwiches – all homemade from scratch everyday, and dinner pot pies, made with that same discriminating pie crust that one tastes with every fruit pie. "We’re similar in concept to the other rapidly growing Bakery Cafés like Panera and Corner Bakery, but there are three big differences: we have Pie, we promote Michigan, and we bake from scratch everyday, at every location. We want to be the neighborhood destination, to communicate a culture of 'we care' to our employees, customers, and communities," says Busley.
Visitors to any one of the Grand Traverse Pie Company locations - each a "destination café", will smell the aromas flowing from the open air, from-scratch kitchen, immediately. One will find REAL Michigan made pie and café cuisine. There are now eleven GTPC Franchise locations throughout the state of Michigan and Indiana:
- Ann Arbor (734) 997-7902.
- Brighton (810) 225-7437
- Burton (810) 742-9743
- Grand Rapids (616) 977-7600 *Opening June 25, 2007
- Mt. Pleasant (989) 779-2743
- Norton Shores (231) 799-3399
- Okemos (517) 381-7437
- Petoskey (231) 348-4060
- Terre Haute, Indiana *Opening Mid August, 2007
- Sterling Heights (586) 323-2743
