Spend Locally: Grand Traverse Pie Company

Grand Traverse Pie Company believes in the power of pie. Pie means a celebration of traditions, family, and comfort food. 

The East Lansing cafe offers a variety of menu options, including quiche, pot pie, grilled cheese, BLT, turkey reuben, mediterranean veggie sandwich, cherry chicken salad, soups, breakfast sandwiches, and scramble wraps. That’s just breakfast and lunch, but, of course, you can’t forget the dessert options. 

Known for their pie, the cafe offers fruit pies and cream pies available in six and nine inch options, cookies, muffins, peanut butter cups, turnovers, cinnamon rolls, rice krispie treats, pecan rolls, and fruit bars. A seasonal favorite is the cherry ganache pie, with a classic cherry crumb pie base of Michigan Montmorency cherries, topped with a layer of rich chocolate ganache.

Nik Parkinson has been general manager at the East Lansing location for 13 years. His favorite menu item is the chicken salad sandwich with Michigan dried cherries, served on a croissant. Parkinson said the most popular menu item is the chicken pot pie, but the “best kept secret” menu item is the variety of quiche offered. 

“We have Quiche Lorraine, Broccoli Cheddar, and a Mediterranean,” Parkinson said. The Mediterranean quiche includes tomato, spinach, roasted red pepper, red onion, feta cheese, egg, and cream baked in a flaky crust — available by the slice or whole. 

Parkinson is happy to be the go-to option for many family dinner tables, year after year. “Just being able to be there to help out and provide dessert for families at Thanksgiving is always a good feeling,” he said. 

Another thing he loves about working at Grand Traverse Pie Company is their company’s giving nature, whether it’s working with nonprofits, the university, local schools, or the East Lansing library. Back in May, the store matched pie purchases and donated pies to first-responders at the East Lansing Fire Department and delivered 40 boxed lunch meals to the MSU Police Department. 

Grand Traverse Pie Company is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. To-go orders can be placed over the phone and online, for curbside pickup. Delivery options are available through DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats.

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