Local Vendor Spotlight: Lawry’s Pasty Shop

Owner Andi Pernsteiner

Next time you unwrap a Lawry’s pasty, take a good, hard look at the rolled edge. That flaky, tender crust holds a lot more than meat and potatoes. It’s an intentional design for portability, yes, but it’s also a little clue. Slight differences in the way it’s been rolled, not usually identifiable by an untrained eye, tell a story.

When you’ve spent years making them and training others to make them, like Addie Lawry, you notice that each person leaves their own distinct mark.

“I can identify who rolled every pasty,” said Addie. “Each one has character. It’s my favorite thing about making pasties. No two are the same and everyone who rolls them has their own unique style.”

Addie is a fourth-generation pasty maker at the family-run Lawry’s Pasty Shop. She manages the kitchen at the Marquette retail and production location on US-41 while her dad, Peter, runs the books and brother, Thad, serves as the in-house butcher.

The Lawry’s family legacy began in 1946, when Addie’s great-grandmother, Madelyne, opened a café in the Blueberry Mine area of New Diorite. According to Addie, she was a talented cook and prepared food for the miners in the area. But it was her pasties, a popular choice for mine workers because of the portability, that quickly became the most sought-after item. Bolstered by demand, she shifted her focus and energy into a standalone pasty shop, originally called Madelyne’s Pasty Shop.

Nearly 80 years later, Lawry’s Pasty Shop is still rolling those same pasties.

The family business has passed through several generations and locations over the years. Madelyne’s son Roger purchased the business in the ‘50s and ran it with his wife Nancy after their marriage in the ‘60s. Nancy was the sole owner for a while, and then Addie’s dad, Peter, took over in the early 1990s, helping expand it into Marquette. Lawry’s Ishpeming, using the same family recipe, is now owned and operated by her uncle.

Addie has been working at the shop for most of her life, she said, taking some time off only when she had her son. Finding success with her family under one roof has been especially rewarding.

“My dad is one of my favorite people in the world, so being able to work with him every day is awesome,” she said. “We bounce ideas off each other. I don’t think a lot of people get that opportunity or get to spend as much time with their family as we do. It’s very special.”

While plenty has changed since Madelyne first began making pasties, the recipe hasn’t. Addie said she wants everyone to remember their own grandma when they eat a Lawry’s pasty because that’s where it all started.

The family recipe has roots in both French and Cornish traditions, reflecting the longstanding cultural influences of the UP. Addie says her great-grandmother’s aunt made the original recipe, which has been passed down through the family ever since.

Lawry’s still uses the same basic combination of beef, potatoes, rutabaga, onions and its signature spice blend. The ingredients are sourced as locally as possible, including potatoes from VanDrese Farms in Cornell when available and meat from UP Products LLC (also known as Meyer Wholesale) in Ewen. 

Almost everything is still done by hand. Meat arrives in 50-pound slabs and is hand-trimmed and ground every morning by Thad. Onions are ground and potatoes are soaked overnight before being julienned, also by hand — a technique that Addie says gives Lawry’s pasties their signature texture.

The dough is made strictly with lard and chilled overnight, which Addie says is hands-down the only way to do it. Lard provides a particular combination of tenderness, flakiness, and structure that butter and shortening can’t quite replicate. It’s also sturdy (particularly important because it needs to hold a substantial filling without falling apart) and makes the dough easy to work.

First thing in the morning, the fresh fillings are hand mixed.

“It has to be done by hand, so they have a good texture,” she said. “When the filling is still loose, it tends to cook a lot better.”

Then comes the part that Addie considers an art form — rolling and folding.

“It really is an art form,” she said. “We get a lot of artists in the shop — people who work with pottery or clay — thinking they can do it. Every single person I’ve tried to teach, their brain just isn’t comprehending it.”

The key, she says, is to keep the roll moving, which takes a lot of time, patience, and practice.

There are no preservatives, said Addie, and the pasties go straight from the kitchen to customers — fresh or frozen, depending on where they’re headed.

“Straight from our kitchen to your door just like Grandma used to make it,” said Addie.

The pasty has a long history in the UP, where Cornish miners brought the tradition with them and the food became a practical meal for workers underground. But over generations, pasties have become something more personal, too. Ask any Yooper and they’ll have a favorite pasty shop. They’ll probably also have opinions on ketchup versus gravy as a topping, but Addie said that’s not up for debate. Ketchup or nothing at all. And unlike most, she’s definitely got the street credit to back up that opinion.

“Really, if you have a good pasty, it’s like steak,” said Addie. “You don’t need anything on it.”

“Every pasty is different,” said Addie. “People gravitate toward the one that’s closest to what they grew up with.”

That familiarity is another reason why she loves the business so much. She hears many stories from longtime customers, raving about the recipe and how it’s the same as they remember from back when Madelyne was running the show.

“They’ll say, ‘It tastes the same as it did back then,’” said Addie. “That’s the biggest compliment.”

There are also so many traditions tied to where and how they’re eaten, too.

“I love to see where you eat your pasties,” said Addie. “The memories and the traditions that are tied to these are endless. It always makes me feel very grateful to be a part of that.”

Today, you can buy fresh or frozen pasties at Lawry’s shop on US-41 or get them hot at retail locations, like the Marquette Food Co-op’s deli. The family also ships pasties to every state and is working on revamping packaging to offer a vacuum-sealed option for local grocers to sell in the frozen aisle.

Addie said Lawry’s recently expanded its production space to allow the family to make even more. Despite the many opportunities for growth, Addie’s focus isn’t on making the biggest or most expansive menu possible.

“I would rather make one thing and make it extremely well than put out 20 things that are not really a pasty,” she said. “Anything else is a pot pie, really.”

That philosophy comes from a genuine love for the food and the work behind it.

“I really believe in doing one dish and doing it really well,” she said. “And you have to be excited to do it, and I am. That’s passion versus just trying to make money.”

After four generations, that passion may be the most important thing Lawry’s is carrying forward. The recipe has stayed the same. The work is still done by hand. And the pasties still leave the kitchen looking, tasting, and feeling like the ones Madelyne served nearly 80 years ago.

“I feel very proud to say it’s one of the longest-running pasty shops in the U.S.,” said Addie. “It makes me want to continue on and put out that same pasty that grandma did and stay true to it.”