What has one part Washington, DC, a dash of Baltimore, two dollops of Cordova, Alaska, all chased down with a shot of Key West? The secret recipe for Sault Ste. Marie’s first dedicated pasty shop, on wheels no less, slated to open in July.
For Ishpeming-native Heidi Ritter, North American travels as a Coast Guard spouse are just as essential ingredients as the beef, carrots, potatoes, and (optional) rutabagas she plans to put into the pasties she bakes.
“You won’t find pasties in Alaska or Baltimore, but in Key West I lived next to a Cornish man,” said Ritter of a British expatriate from Cornwall, where the pasty was created to nourish coal miners. “I baked him pasties because it reminded him of home. In return, would give me mahi-mahi. I did the same thing in Alaska. There were homesick Yoopers in the middle of nowhere - one lady was from Baraga. I’d even force-feed pasties to my non-Yooper friends.”
She also started making them for herself. “Just the smell of a pasty is enough to make you feel homesick and nostalgic,” she added.
Where does the pasty passion come from?
“You’re born with it in your blood when you’re a Yooper,” said Ritter. “Grandpa Aino worked the mines up in the Copper Country. Miners used to put pasties in their pockets not only to eat, but to keep themselves warm under the ground.”
The Ritters moved to the Sault in 2020 as a last transfer before retirement. Husband Jeffery skippers the cutter Buckthorn as a coda to a 20-year career in the Coast Guard. The Sault offers 80 miles of St. Mary’s River, instant access to three Great Lakes, and a whole new country to explore – Canada – right next door.
But the one thing the Soo seems to lack is a dedicated, dyed-in-the wool pasty shop like the ones Heidi grew up with in the central UP.
“Every town has multiple pasty shops,” said Ritter. “Negaunee has Iron Town Pasties, Ishpeming has Lawry’s, and Marquette is home to Jean Kay’s. The Soo has great pasties on the restaurant menus of Frank’s, Lockview, and Karl’s. Pasties also shine as fundraisers for Knights of Columbus and Sault Schools FIRST Robotics. But I instantly noticed that this town did not have a dedicated hot-and-now, ready-to-go pasty shop.”
She saw it a business opportunity.
Ritter’s place of pasty purveyance will be a kitchen on wheels to go where the local and tourist appetites are. She’s optimizing a food trailer that once catered to state fairgoers each August in Escanaba and then served up craft barbecue fare in Ishpeming.
On Facebook she said it will be located in a trailer parked outside of the Soo Locks Boat Tours/Valley Camp! "Grand opening TBD!"
After getting all the regulatory paper in order and tuning the oven and freezers, Ritter will do an all-up test run on baking of pasties by the dozens. By late July, she should be ready for primetime.
Anchoring the menu is a classic pasty with beef, potato, salt, pepper, carrots, and green parsley, all in a traditional flaky crust and garnished with a cutout of the UP on top.
Rutabaga has always been a contentious ingredient for aficionados, so it will be optional.
The menu will offer crustless pasty bowls with low-carb cauliflower for diabetics and a crust specially formulated for the gluten intolerant. A vegetarian version swaps broccoli for beef and has a pad of cream cheese just under the top crust. Ritter will even offer a poutine pasty that incorporates cheese and gravy for Canadian tastes.
Word of Ritter’s “pastymobile” - feel free to suggest names - has skyrocketed on social media. Her Pasty Company page on Facebook had been viewed 100,000 times and accumulated 1,700 followers during the first two weeks of June.
As Ritter wrapped up her interview for this story, a fan who had seen the Facebook page chimed in about the wonders of using palm fruit oil. “This happens all the time,” she said, taking notes.
