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I recently visited Pete and Paul Blake of Blake’s Orchards and Cider Mill in Armada. They operate three farms equaling 700 acres, and honeybees are some of their hardest workers!

I was totally fascinated by the bees and the beautiful, colorful hives. Pete and Paul told me that every year they hire beekeepers to set up their beehives on and around their orchards to pollinate all of their fruit trees, berry bushes and veggies.

The Blakes must purchase new bees every year. Although the bee should live from year to year, they have tragically been dying from Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists aren’t exactly clear on what’s going on with the collapse — whether it’s the mites, radio waves, cell towers, pesticides or simply a natural cycle. Do a search to learn more about this strange, mysterious phenomenon and the decline of our bees.

We’re looking for local beekeepers to get in touch with us, as we’d love to carry and sell your honey at our Achatz pie shops.

Of course, a Boston cream pie is a cake, not a pie, but we still have a lot of customers coming in asking for them. So now instead of saying, “No, we don’t make that,” we’ll say, “Yes, how many do you want?”

The Boston cream pie starts with our tender flaky pie crust, followed by a couple pounds of our homemade pastry cream made with pure butter and real vanilla, and topped with this really awesome delicious yellow cake! Then, my favorite part… a ton of super high fat chocolate ganache poured over top! Ohhh… must ride 10 more miles to burn just one slice of this heavenly pie!

We loved this pie so much we entered it in to the National Pie Championships held April in Celebration, Florida, where it won the blue ribbon in the berry category! We knew we now needed to give it a respectable name.

Over the years we’ve counted at least 75 different flavors of pies here at Achatz Handmade Pie Co. Many come and go on the menu with the seasonal change. Some pies are even named after the baker who created it, like Pumpkin Shelly, a cheesecake layered pumpkin pie with a pecan praline topping! Still one of my all time favorites!

Blue Ribbon Berry Patch will be our Pie of the Month for August 2010.

But watch my recent segment on Fox 2 News where I made a Strawberry and Cream Pie with beautiful strawberries delivered from Florida. They were deep red, as big as apples, and looked like they were pumped on steroids!

This June, Strawberry and Cream is our Pie of the Month. We’ll be using locally grown strawberries from Blake’s Big Apple orchard on North Ave. in Armada, Mich. Visit Blake’s and they’ll allow you to pick your own berries. It’s worth a trip up; bring the kids and experience the hard labor of harvesting your own fruit (it’ll be good for your kids)!

Each month we spotlight a different pie for $1 off the regular price. Our Strawberry Cream pie will go fast and will soon be off the menu until next June, so call ahead to reserve yours.

Dave and I are so thankful to all the great people at AHPC who put out all those wonderful pies day in and day out! Great work everyone! and of corse to all of our faithful customers who keep us rolling, thanks so much!

Check out this video featuring Chef Vera!

Achatz Handmade Pie Co. was named as one of the “Michigan’s 50 Companies to Watch”.

Achatz was honored April 30 in Lansing along with 49 other Michigan companies for their intent and capacity for growth, entrepreneurial leadership, creative marketing and innovation. Additionally, honorees have established businesses that are environmentally conscious, take action that are philanthropic, perform well in competitive environments, and have outstanding relationships with their employees. With such attributes, “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch” honorees are critical to transforming our economy, transcending the challenges facing our nation and preserving a high quality of life for all. To learn more about the ‘Companies to Watch’ award, please go to the Edward Lowe Foundation web site below.

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm announced the 2009 class of “Michigan’s 50 Companies to Watch” (MI 50), saying they represent the small businesses that are essential to the diversification and transformation of the state’s economy.  The honorees, companies with between 6 and 99 employees that represent all regions of the state and a range of both high-tech and traditional sectors, have generated a total $1.1 billion in revenue and added more than 700 employees over the past four years.
“More than ever, we need the energy, determination and innovation that small business owners and entrepreneurs live and breathe every day as we work to diversify our economy and create jobs,” Granholm said.  “We can’t forget that small businesses represent 95 percent of Michigan’s employers, and they are the backbone of our economy.  I applaud these 50 companies and every small business owner who is helping to diversify Michigan’s economy by creating and sustaining all kinds of jobs for all kinds of people.”

Achatz Handmade Pie Co. grew 26% in 2008 and has planned growth for 25% in 2009, which will create 12-15 new jobs. The 20,000 sq. ft. Bake House in Chesterfield Michigan supplies fresh pies to their own six pie shops in Macomb and Oakland counties. Approximately 100 grocers and up-scale restaurants carry the Achatz Pies in southeast Michigan, Ann Arbor, Lansing and Chicago. Last year the company created a new line of frozen ‘Ready to Bake’ pies to supply the Whole Foods Market chain in the Mid-Atlantic region. “This program has helped Whole Foods Market to increase their bakery sales because of the outstanding quality of our pies”, says Dave Achatz, President and co-owner of Achatz Handmade Pie Co. “We use no hydrogenated oil or preservatives in our pies, which makes our products fit perfectly in the all natural trend.”

Purchased and used in 2008 at Achatz Pies
360,000 lbs of Michigan Apples were
225,000 lbs. Michigan Cherries
125,000 Michigan Blueberries
150,000 Michigan pastry flour
130,000 Michigan Beet sugar

Well, I believe this is the last day to cast your vote to see which pie will be named America’s “Best Slice” for the GMA challenge. Another Michigan company had won this challenge for the “Best Scoop” when GMA had asked America who had the best ice cream. Mooner’s in Traverse City won. If we win, I will call Mooner’s, see if they want to bring the ice cream, we’ll bring the pie, and we’ll go see the guys (and gal) in Lansing, to see if we can’t do something about all of these extra small business taxes that we, here in Michigan pay! Creating more jobs here in Michigan is vital right now and making it easier to invest in equipment, marketing and everything else we need to run a successful, instead of the heavy tax burdens, will make a difference in whether we can continue growth. 

I was reading through all of our ‘Testimonials”, and see one from my cousin Stacey. She writes, “we’ve come along way from home, to flea market, to Good Morning America”. Yep, we’ll never forget the early days of baking a few pies from the back room of our home, loading up the old blue, setting up the 10×20 foot tent at 6 am. at the Armada Flea Market to sell pies, rain, snow, hail or sleet over the card tables! It’s been 15 years of honest hard work. And thanks to my dedicated staff and family for their hard work and perseverance, we’ve been able to purchase a great new Bake House in Chesterfield!

So now, the campainging is over, they’ll count the votes, and may the best pie win. I have been thinking of how stressed the other pie companies are feeling as well. With Thanksgiving barreling down on us, we must concentrate fully on pulling this holiday off perfectly, our busiest time of the year! The Friday Marysol Castro came out, I was driving to work with butterflies that turned into a severe stomach ache. Thought I would have to pull the car over and loose it on the side of the road! I was so nervous! I kept thinking of Michele from Michele’s pies, Audrey from The Olive Branch and Ms. Norma Grub, for they had already gone through the taping earlier that week! Had they experience these horrible butterflies? I felt sorry for my competitors…really, though I felt more connected to them, through the wonderful thing called PIE! So, good luck all, my kindred-heart fellow pie ladies! It’s been a great ride! We are all winners! Blessings, 

Truly,

Wendy