Toledo dining options are varied and plentiful, but we have not yet been blessed with the splendor of pasties. Relying on the familiarity of the northern Michigan stuffed staple (pronounced pass-tee), Kathy and Bill Spencer (yes, Blizzard Bill) of Maumee, are looking for a Toledo location for their already successful Michigan venture, Kathy’s Pasties.
It is all about location
“Kathy would like to open a place in Toledo, but it’s got to be the right spot,” said Bill, known to most as Blizzard Bill Spencer of 13abc. “Kathy’s Pasties one of the fastest growing pasty stores in northern Michigan.”
Kathy delivers to customers in Ann Arbor, Detroit and Lansing, in addition to Toledo. The pasty popularity has even spawned an online ordering system, where pasties are shipped via insulated boxes anywhere in America. The closest pasty restaurant to Toledo is in Detroit, according to Bill.
So what is a pasty?
“It’s really a glorified pot pie,” Bill said, as he described the flaky crust, semicircle pastry filled with fresh meat and vegetables. Part of Kathy’s Pasties’ success is due to the product’s freshness: vegetables aren’t pre-cut or frozen. Kathy meticulously peels and chops ingredients in sight of customers daily, so they know they’re fresh. That kind of attention to detail means they can only make about 16 every 4-6 hours.
“It’s labor intensive, it’s time consuming, but it’s worth it,” said Bill. “It’s like Thanksgiving dinner every day.”
The pasty is prevalent around the Great Lakes region, owing its beginnings to coal miners who once brought them for lunch and re-warmed them on mining rocks.
For now, it’s Farwell
The two happened upon their current Farwell, Michigan location— exactly 216 miles away— while vacationing there 10 years ago. Kathy has spent about four days per week at the restaurant for the past nine years serving an appreciative crowd (including many tourists) her mouthwatering meals.
As for Blizzard Bill, he continues his work at 13abc, far from Kathy’s kitchen— except for weekend dishwashing duties.
“Everybody knows [Kathy] up there,” he said. “But I don’t cook. Believe me, you don’t want anything I’ll make. I used to work [in TV] in northern Michigan, so a few people remember me there. But I do weather, she does pasties.”
They’ll keep looking for the proper location in Toledo, but they’re investigating carefully.
“Yes, we are looking for a storefront,” Bill said. “We always keep looking. It’s got to be the right place.”
For more information, visit kathyspastie.com.
