Achatz as named Best Pie in Detroit by the Detroit Free Press in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Even as Achatz Handmade Pie Co. gains nationwide recognition, the company remains focused on its small-town values. The company certainly has humble beginnings. In the early ’90s, founder Wendy Achatz sold her pies at craft shows and the local restaurant she ran with her husband. “Our first year in business, we brought in $25,000,” Achatz says.

By 1996, Achatz secured the first grocery store account and purchased the orchard in Armada, Mich., that supplied her Northern Spy apples. “The orchard was really just a hobby for the owners, but we were delighted to buy it,” she recounts. “I was one of the best customers, anyway.”

Today, Achatz sells fruit and cream pies through its five bakeries in Michigan, as well as in about 75 grocery stores and restaurants throughout the Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland areas – which are delivered fresh from Armada each morning.

What goes into an Achatz pie that makes it so special? All cream pies are made from scratch with local ingredients: fresh milk, pure butter and vanilla. All fruit pies are made with only fresh or frozen-fresh fruit – never canned. Its pie crusts, which have been trans-fat free for 10 years, are made with locally produced, unbleached natural flour.  

Until last year, Achatz baked all of its pies in its 6,000-square-foot facility at the apple orchard. However, the company purchased a $1 million, 20,000-square-foot facility down the road to help keep up with growth. Last year, the company also achieved record revenues of $3.85 million.  

Achatz plans to open additional stores and is currently looking for the people and local support to make that happen. “We’re hoping to bring people to our team who have franchise experience,” she says. “All of this great success, to me, means that we must be doing things right."