Chasing Pastries, Not Paychecks: Inside Bay City’s Favorite Bakery
Episode 206 • 4th April 2025 • Total Michigan • Cliff Duvernois
00:00:00 00:26:49

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A heartfelt journey from logistics to layers of dough, Maria Otto left a thriving corporate career to rediscover her joy in the kitchen. In this episode, she shares the emotional, practical, and often humorous twists that led to the creation of Little Pastry Shop in Bay City. From baking pies at a golf course to quitting her executive role to reconnect with her daughter, Maria’s story is about finding your way back to what matters most—flour, family, and faith in yourself.

Links:

Address: 401 Center Avenue, Bay City, MI 48708​MapQuest+1Great Lakes Bay CVB+1

Phone: (989) 450-7956 ​Great Lakes Bay CVB+1MapQuest+1

Website: www.lpastryshop.com​

Facebook: Little Pastry Shop Facebook Page​

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Transcripts

Maria Otto:

So I went home, talked to my husband, and I said I have a prof.

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I said, this is gonna sound

stupid, because I feel like I have

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the life that everybody wants.

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I have a beautiful house,

married, children, I am on

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track to be an executive and.

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And I said, but I'm just not

happy and I don't know what it is.

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I think I gotta make some changes.

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Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone.

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Welcome back to Total Michigan, where

we interview ordinary Michiganders

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doing some pretty extraordinary things.

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I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.

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What happens when the dream

job turns into a gilded cage?

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When the corner office feels

more like a sell than a triumph?

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Today's story is about trading

prestige for peace, about walking

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away from the corporate ladder

that once reached into the clouds.

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But never reached into the heart.

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Maria Otto had it all, A rising

career in MBAA life, others envied.

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But one summer between beach days and

ice cream cones with her daughter, Maria

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realized that she was done chasing titles.

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She wanted joy.

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I.

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She wanted flour on her hands

and cinnamon in the air.

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She wanted to build something

small, something sweet, and

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something that was deeply hers.

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What drives someone to give up

stability, to pursue passion?

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And what can we learn from

someone who dares to follow the

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whisper of a long forgotten dream?

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To help us explore, this will be

Maria Otto, owner of the Little

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Pastry Shop located in Bay City.

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Maria, how are you?

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I'm doing great.

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So why don't you tell us what

is the little pastry shop?

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Maria Otto: We are a boutique

bakery, a small batch.

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Everything is in small batches.

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And we specialize in cinnamon rolls,

petite scones and little pies.

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Cliff Duvernois: So that's three

of my four food groups right there.

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Perfect.

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Maria Otto: Perfect.

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Yes.

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Cliff Duvernois: And now why don't

you tell us where are you from?

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Where did you grow up?

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Maria Otto: I actually grew up just north

of Bay City in a little town Kawkawlin.

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in a large family there's eight of us.

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whoa.

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We always had a lot of food and, uh,

used to cooking for a lot of people.

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Cliff Duvernois: So now I gotta

ask the question because obviously

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this is your profession now.

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Yes.

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Were you in the kitchen with your mom

helping to cook meals and that story.

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Maria Otto: My mom taught me everything.

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she actually grew up in a

family I think of with 13 kids.

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Okay.

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I always lose count, but I believe it

was 13 and she always told me her and her

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dad used to bake eight pies at a time.

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And so she would always

be baking in the kitchen.

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It was just a part of what they did.

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Right.

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I was lucky enough that she'd help.

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She'd let us help.

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Cliff Duvernois: oh, eight pies at a time.

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Maria Otto: Yes.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now.

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So now I ask for her

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Maria Otto: family and she said

they were eating in one day.

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I gotta

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Cliff Duvernois: ask this question here

because I'm envisioning like this little,

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I know what I have a stove at home.

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Yeah.

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So did they have that little stove

at home as well or did they have

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like a big, just a normal size,

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Maria Otto: but you know, if

you've got a, a typical, uh, home.

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Dove.

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There's usually, two or rack ovens.

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Two racks, yep.

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Two racks, four pies on each track.

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And that's, that works.

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Cliff Duvernois: Sweet Mo.

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So for you being in the kitchen, so

let me ask you this question here.

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'cause I was a kid, I grew

up, my mom was always cooking.

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The last place I was was the kitchen.

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So what was it about cooking that

brought you and attracted you to it?

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Maria Otto: At my home where we grew up.

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It was the kitchen was

the center of the house.

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So you walk in.

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Ah,

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Cliff Duvernois: true.

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Yep.

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Yes.

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Maria Otto: Take your shoes off.

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You're walking into the

kitchen and on this side of

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the kitchen's, the living room.

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And then we had a family room on this

and the doors were always open and

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everybody, even though there were

two other spaces, that you could

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sit in, everybody is in the kitchen.

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And usually standing around the

counter seeing what's going on.

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a couple people standing by the stove.

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Stirring whatever we got going on there.

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Offering

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Cliff Duvernois: to sample

what it is you're making.

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Yes, exactly.

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Yep.

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Maria Otto: yeah, we were always just in

the kitchen and I still am even at home.

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I leave here and I'm in the kitchen.

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It's an addiction.

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh, it certainly is.

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Yes.

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Now, as you're growing up, as part of

your backstory here, which I read on your

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website, so as you're growing up, you're

thinking about going off to college.

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And initially you didn't.

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Pursue Correct.

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Like a culinary arts degree.

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And you actually went in a

very different direction.

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Maria Otto: Yes.

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Cliff Duvernois: Talk to us about that.

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Maria Otto: actually to take it back

a little further, when I was about to

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head off to college, I had no money,

you know, and you need to pay for

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books and tuition and, everything.

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Housing?

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Yes.

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I was working at a golf course

and I asked them if I could sell

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pies to make some extra money.

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And the owner said Yes.

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And so, oh, how nice is that?

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Yeah.

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And so it was perfect.

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So I would bake pies, bring

them to the golf course and

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sell 'em for 10 bucks a piece.

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And it was just some extra income to

help me before I went off to college.

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Cliff Duvernois: So you could do

that to help pay for books Exactly.

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And everything.

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Oh, that's great.

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Yeah.

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And

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Maria Otto: so then I did go, off, to

college I was telling everybody, I'm gonna

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go back and I'm gonna open a bakery and.

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And that was my goal.

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Right?

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Right.

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Took entrepreneurship classes, did

a couple things here and there.

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Did idea pitch competitions

about, I'm gonna open a bakery.

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We are gonna sell only seasonal from

scratch items and this and this and that.

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as I kept going, and I'll never forget,

I was sitting in one of my logistics

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classes, one day supply chain management,

and the professor was looking around.

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He goes, I see a lot of women in

this class, a lot of girls, if you

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want a job right outta college.

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You should go into logistics

because it's mostly men.

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True.

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And you are almost guaranteed

to get a full-time job.

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And for some reasons that

just, clicked with me.

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I should do that 'cause I

need to make some money.

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And so I ended up, after that I switched

my major just from business to logistics.

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It's amazing how in incre, how

easily you can be torn, turned

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into a different direction.

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Just from you got

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Cliff Duvernois: that right?

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Yep.

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And

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Maria Otto: so me being the,

you know, low twenties that I

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was Yeah, that's a good idea.

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He is a professor.

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I'm Melissa to him, so I changed my lives.

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Nice.

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Cliff Duvernois: Paycheck, a career.

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Yes.

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Able to buy a

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Maria Otto: home then.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yep.

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Maria Otto: And sold my first job.

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I worked at a three PL dispatching,

truck drivers, giving 'em pickup

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numbers, that kind of thing.

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And I, I've always been one

of those people, I'm gonna

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submerse myself into this.

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I am going into logistics.

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I love supply chain,

love being in warehouses.

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And I'm thinking back, where

the heck did that come from?

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I have no idea.

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This doesn't even make

sense, but I did it.

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and then I, during that job as a three pl.

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The owner of that company said,

what have you always wanted to do?

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And I said, I've always

wanted to own a bakery.

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And he said, ha, there's no money in that.

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Don't do that.

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And I thought, he's right.

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There's no money in that.

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Don't do that.

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You know what I mean?

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And so I didn't, A couple years

later, we decided to move back

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to Bay City, my husband and I

because I was gonna have a baby.

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We're excited to have the baby

wanna be closer to my family

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'cause we're all still very close.

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And I had a job, opportunity

full-time at an automotive

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company just south of Bay City.

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Cliff Duvernois: Boom.

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Maria Otto: So I thought, this is great.

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everything works out,

things are going well.

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I'm gonna start doing automotive.

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And so I did.

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And while I was there they said, you're

good at, I think you'd be good at sales.

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Can you do sales?

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And I said, sure.

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I don't really want to,

but I think I'll do that.

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And it's just, I didn't think

about it at the time, but people

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tell you you're good at something.

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Okay, yeah, I'll do that.

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Oh, no problem.

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And so I found myself on this path.

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Yeah, I'll do that.

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Okay.

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Yeah, to get a promotion, take this job

and get on this account and travel here.

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Travel there.

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Never home.

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My last step in my career, I was a

purchasing director and That's great.

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Oh, wow.

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Yes.

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And it was, it was wonderful.

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It was what I wanted, working

up the ladder, and all of this.

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But there was one day that I

just, I don't know what happened.

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I literally was sitting at

my desk and I was, I said, I

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don't wanna do this anymore.

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I don't even know what life I'm living.

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I don't know who I am.

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I feel like it's the same thing every day.

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the other things, you lose track

of the simple things in life.

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I don't cook at all anymore.

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I remember that was in my head.

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We go out to eat every single day.

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Every single day.

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I don't remember the last

time I baked anything.

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And, which was weird for me because

being that I always wanted to open a

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bakery, I was working on our cinnamon

roll recipe years prior at home, trying

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to make it bigger, bigger batches,

perfecting this and that, and I

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found myself we're not even, I home.

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This is Ter, what do

we have this house for?

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I'm not even living my life.

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Cliff Duvernois: It's

basically a flop house.

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Yes.

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You just go there, sleep,

get up the next day.

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And that's did repeat the day.

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That's

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Maria Otto: all we did.

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And I wasn't even

comfortable in my home, home.

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So it was a very, I don't wanna be here.

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And that almost makes you work more too.

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That makes you work more too.

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Because I'm like, I don't wanna be home.

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I, it just, something's not right,

So I went home, talked to my

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husband, and I said, I have a prof.

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I said, this is gonna sound

stupid, because I feel like I have

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the life that everybody wants.

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I have a beautiful house,

married children, career and a

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career that for kids I built.

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You know what I mean?

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Mm-hmm.

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I went back and got my MBA, like, I

am on track to be an executive and.

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That's what I always wanted.

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And I said, but I'm just not happy.

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And I don't know what it is.

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I think I gotta make some changes.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

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Maria Otto: And he said, okay.

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And we had talked before about yeah,

we can, you know, we're flexible.

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If you wanna do something

different, go for it.

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And, uh, because he has

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Cliff Duvernois: a job

in auto wove as well.

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Yes.

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Right?

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Yes.

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Mm-hmm.

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Maria Otto: And we always

had that in common, you know,

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it's what we talked about.

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and even that gets a little,

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Cliff Duvernois: No wonder why you

couldn't get away from, you go, you

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go to work all day and then you come

home and that's what you talk about.

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Yeah.

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Yes.

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Okay.

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Maria Otto: It was terrible.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yes,

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Maria Otto: Absolutely terrible.

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so we said, I said, you know, I went

back to work, I think when Clara,

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my daughter was six weeks old.

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I didn't stay home I said,

I feel like I missed out.

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She's going into sixth grade,

middle school, critical years.

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I think I'm gonna take the summer off.

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I think I'm taking a break.

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I'm gonna take the summer off.

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We went to the beach every day

and ate ice cream every day.

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Gained some weight.

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Cliff Duvernois: Nice.

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Maria Otto: But anyways,

we had the best summer.

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I said, I'm, quitting my

job, taking the summer off.

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I'm gonna actually spend time

with Clara ' cause I missed her.

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You know?

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Yes.

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You don't even know your kids.

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Somebody else is raising her.

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Yep.

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which I thought was great for, but

now I'm like, no, that's my kid.

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I want her to be like me and the

only way she's gonna be like us

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is if she knows us, And so, left

my job, which was very difficult.

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What a terrible, it took me a long time.

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I got physically sick.

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From quitting my job because

you, that's your life, or I know

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you, at least it was my life.

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It's a

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Cliff Duvernois: paycheck, Yes, yes.

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I get it.

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I get it.

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Maria Otto: I tell people, when

you decide to quit your job.

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You think it's gonna be, woo-hoo,

I get to sleep in, I'm gonna

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be, I'm gonna exercise, I'm

gonna do all of these things.

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And for me it was like, holy crap.

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I went and got my MBA.

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Like I went, I traveled, I did all

of these things and took, classes

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on all of this, Dale Carnegie and

all of these things that led up to

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me trying to grow professionally.

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So I can't believe I

just threw all that away.

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And that was going through my mind.

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Cliff Duvernois: I can also see too, from

your perspective there, I mean you made

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this comment before you had a dream life

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Maria Otto: Yes.

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Cliff Duvernois: That many

people would kill for and,

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Maria Otto: and people to this

day probably say, Maria is stupid.

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Cliff Duvernois: yeah.

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Well, or they're thinking of

themselves, like, why not me?

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You know why.

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Right.

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Why throw all that away?

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It doesn't make any sense.

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Maria Otto: Yeah.

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Cliff Duvernois: But it was

really, for you, it was.

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It was a happiness factor.

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Maria Otto: Yes, exactly.

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Internally happy.

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It's incredible how you

think you want something and

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it's, it's not what you want.

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You know what I mean?

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More simple, the better is

what I've, I've learned for me.

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Cliff Duvernois: And then for, to, to

go explore that a little bit further.

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'cause when you were talking before

about how it was like a long process.

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even that day, that first day,

you're not working anymore.

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I could imagine that

there's a lot of anxiety.

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Maria Otto: Oh yeah.

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Cliff Duvernois: Because this

is what your whole life has

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become, and now it's not there.

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It's gone.

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Right.

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It's, it's a, a big chunk

of your life missing.

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Maria Otto: Yeah, it was incredibly tough.

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and I was lucky to have support

from my family, that day that I

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ended up leaving and I just, I quit.

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I was at home in my living room and

I heard a knock on our back patio.

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And it was two of my brothers and my

sister-in-laws with a case of beer

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and they said, let's have a drink.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

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And we just

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Maria Otto: sat on the back patio and just

talked, you know what I mean about Yes.

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Alright.

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Next phase of life.

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it's all good, you're gonna

be fine and this and that.

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So I'm lucky to happen.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now at some

point you broach the idea

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about starting a pastry shop.

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Maria Otto: Yes.

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Cliff Duvernois: So talk to us about that.

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Maria Otto: So it was that

summer hanging out with Clara.

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I thought, I wanna get back to what I

think that I have wanted to do all along

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that I just didn't have the guts to do.

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And just said, I'm sick of, doing

what I'm supposed to do and I'm

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just gonna do what I wanna do.

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For me, I have, I have one

kid, going into middle school.

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She was going into sixth grade.

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I'm not gonna sit home all day.

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I, I'm a busy, I like, I don't like

being busy, but I like having a purpose.

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You know?

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I wanna feel like I am doing something.

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And I said, when she goes back to school

in the fall, I'm gonna hit it hard.

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I'm gonna start selling this

outta my house and I'm gonna

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start looking for a space.

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Oh, this is beautiful.

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Yes.

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So it was cool.

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It was like I post on my

Facebook, Hey everybody, here's

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my site and please support me.

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You know what I mean?

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I'm going off the cuff here.

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My stuff tastes good.

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Give it a try, and I knew I

didn't wanna stay outta my

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home because it's not for me.

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I have always wanted to, own a bakery.

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And that is what I'm going to do.

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So if I died tomorrow, what would I.

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What would I do?

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I would've said I should have done that.

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And so it was awesome.

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Cliff Duvernois: It's interesting that,

the influence that one person's comment

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made all those years ago being railed.

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Yeah.

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Yes.

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Maria Otto: And that, and I would say

everything worked out so perfectly

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Cliff Duvernois: when those doors open.

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Maria Otto: Yes.

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Yeah.

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Because the things that I learned,

Supply chain management, purchasing.

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I worked in finance for a little bit.

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I worked in sales.

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I have traveled the globe.

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I know that our KY tastes

exactly like the ones in Poland.

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HR, I didn't work in HR.

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But I had people that worked for

me, so I had experience doing

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that and all of these things.

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Have helped me be successful

at owning my own bakery.

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if I would have opened a bakery right

out of college, I wouldn't have been

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:

prepared as I was, it was the right time.

417

:

Cliff Duvernois: It's almost from

what you're saying there, it was

418

:

like through your life journey,

even though you weren't doing.

419

:

What you wanted or truly

wanted to do, right?

420

:

Yeah.

421

:

You were picking up all of those skills,

which is now making you successful.

422

:

Maria Otto: Exactly.

423

:

And it was all necessary,

to be successful.

424

:

So yeah, a lot of times you

don't understand why things are

425

:

happening to you in your life.

426

:

And then I.

427

:

Then you understand hindsight is

:

428

:

shows you the whole puzzle learning.

429

:

Exactly, yeah.

430

:

Everything falls into place it's

been incredible And some of these

431

:

things, um, that we do, our menus

and all of that, it's just you

432

:

get an idea in your head and.

433

:

Let's run with it, you know?

434

:

So Cool.

435

:

That's beautiful.

436

:

Yeah.

437

:

Cliff Duvernois: For our

audience, we're gonna take a quick

438

:

break and thank our sponsors.

439

:

When we come back, we're gonna

talk to Bria a lot more about what

440

:

it took to get the, the little

pastry shop up and running, and

441

:

we will see you after the break.

442

:

Are you enjoying this episode?

443

:

Well, I can tell you

there's a lot more to come.

444

:

Jump over to TotalMichigan.

445

:

com, enter your email address,

and get on our mailing list.

446

:

You'll get a list of the top

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447

:

Along with that, you'll get

all kinds of behind the scenes

448

:

goodies, as well as upcoming guest

notifications, and so much more.

449

:

Just go over to TotalMichigan.

450

:

com, enter your email address today.

451

:

Hello everyone.

452

:

Welcome back to Total Michigan, where

we interview ordinary Michigan Anders

453

:

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

454

:

I am your host, Cliff DuVernois.

455

:

Today we're talking with Maria

Otto, the owner of the Little

456

:

Pastry Shop located in Bay City.

457

:

Maria, before the break, we were talking

about how you had decided that you were

458

:

gonna start cooking outta your home.

459

:

And because you really wanted to

have that home experience, you're

460

:

starting to chase something that you've

been passionate about or whatever.

461

:

Since you were a little girl, at what

point in time did you say to yourself,

462

:

I can't do this at home anymore.

463

:

I actually need a dedicated space.

464

:

I.

465

:

Maria Otto: Pretty quickly.

466

:

oh, even

467

:

Cliff Duvernois: better.

468

:

Maria Otto: Yeah, I had a goal in mind.

469

:

I always wanted to own a shop, and

I've never been one to stay at home.

470

:

And so I like people interaction.

471

:

I love having customers come in.

472

:

And so right away I started looking

for a space, and I was lucky to

473

:

find, to find this so quickly.

474

:

Now,

475

:

Cliff Duvernois: how did you

come about finding this space?

476

:

'cause this is the city market,

477

:

Maria Otto: right?

478

:

Cliff Duvernois: Located

in Bay City, right?

479

:

Yes.

480

:

So how did you find this place?

481

:

Maria Otto: So it was, it was not,

occupied with any other shops at the time.

482

:

Okay.

483

:

And, um, I was looking for a place

that had, ability to have a, a kitchen.

484

:

Which is difficult to find.

485

:

I also, I like this area, my family

and I come downtown Bay City all

486

:

the time, summertime for concerts

and the restaurants and all of that.

487

:

Cliff Duvernois: Yes.

488

:

And so I

489

:

Maria Otto: wanted to be

somewhere that I loved.

490

:

through some friends that had, you

know, some insight on what was available

491

:

around, they helped me find it.

492

:

Cliff Duvernois: Now when you're

talking before about this, 'cause this

493

:

is, this is like a whole other part of

the equation when you're running some

494

:

kind of a food production business.

495

:

Yeah.

496

:

Like you're running pastries,

we're talking refrigerators.

497

:

We're talking ovens, we're

talking all of this stuff.

498

:

Yes.

499

:

Now, did this space already have all

of that, or is that something you

500

:

had to go out and scratch together?

501

:

The financing for?

502

:

Yeah.

503

:

Maria Otto: Pretty much

everything I ended up buying.

504

:

I'm by myself and with my dad.

505

:

My dad would help me, if we went to

an estate sale, if a restaurant was

506

:

closing, Hey, a stainless steel table.

507

:

Oh, perfect.

508

:

That kind of stuff.

509

:

Yes, yes, we looked for that.

510

:

And then some stuff we did buy brand new.

511

:

but yeah, it's, it was a process.

512

:

And it, it didn't take as long as

what I thought, but I think I just

513

:

knew the right people that kind of

knew other people that that helped me.

514

:

So, oh, this is

515

:

Cliff Duvernois: great.

516

:

Yeah.

517

:

So now when you're talking before,

'cause you mentioned this very early

518

:

on in the interview, where you were

tinkering around with that perfect recipe.

519

:

Yeah.

520

:

For cinnamon rolls.

521

:

Okay.

522

:

So just let you know I'm

a cinnamon roll snap.

523

:

So cool.

524

:

I'm gonna have at least five, but,

uh, the rest of your menu that you're

525

:

coming up with, like the, the cookies

and you actually have real croissants

526

:

Maria Otto: Yes.

527

:

Cliff Duvernois: Over there.

528

:

How did this menu come about?

529

:

Maria Otto: So we started pretty simple.

530

:

I.

531

:

With the cinnamon rolls and the scones.

532

:

And actually the scones were the

first thing that I wanted to sell.

533

:

They're a little different.

534

:

They're smaller.

535

:

they're not as dry as a

typical s scone, I would say.

536

:

Thank you.

537

:

I always said they're kind of American.

538

:

Yes.

539

:

but I, I started making them at home

and it was one of my older brothers

540

:

that said, you need to sell these.

541

:

These are so good.

542

:

Scones aren't as well known.

543

:

I would say cinnamon rolls

have a more, uh, draw.

544

:

Correct.

545

:

So I started and then I was like,

okay, I'll do my cinnamon rolls too.

546

:

And then little pies, just because

me and my mom, together, that

547

:

was going back to the roots.

548

:

If you look at my business plan from

college, it was all about the pie.

549

:

I said, we're gonna do little pies

because I grew up in a big family,

550

:

but my current family is just

me, my husband, and my daughter.

551

:

And so we can't eat a whole pie.

552

:

It's gonna go old on the counter.

553

:

And there's nothing more disappointing

than wasting a good dessert.

554

:

Yes.

555

:

So the little pies are nice 'cause

they don't go to waste ever.

556

:

And so those were our initial

products that we started with.

557

:

the chocolate chip cookies are strictly

on the menu because my husband loves them.

558

:

He loves them.

559

:

Eat, was that them Everything that

a condition of opening the place.

560

:

It was, you gotta have cookies.

561

:

He goes, if you're gonna open

a bakery, you have to have a

562

:

good chocolate chip cookie.

563

:

Yeah.

564

:

Cliff Duvernois: Um,

565

:

Maria Otto: the recipe for the chocolate

chip cookies, actually we started with

566

:

a recipe that I always use, right?

567

:

My daughter came in here,

right after we opened.

568

:

It was summertime, and

so she came and helped.

569

:

And she was helping make the

cookie dough and she messed up.

570

:

And, uh, I said, well, what did you do?

571

:

And she goes, oh, I added this and

I put more butter in by mistake.

572

:

And I did this.

573

:

And she was just like a mess.

574

:

And I said, well, shoot, let's go.

575

:

'cause we make big batches, right?

576

:

If you mess something

up, it's a, it's sucks.

577

:

So we We baked the

cookies and we tried 'em.

578

:

I se Clara, these are better

than what I had before.

579

:

So on our menu, it's Clara's chocolate

chip cookie because some of the best

580

:

mistakes are delicious, you know?

581

:

Yes.

582

:

It ended up being delicious.

583

:

So that is actually the cookie recipe.

584

:

The little punch, the little check bites.

585

:

We call 'em check bites.

586

:

Cliff Duvernois: Mm-hmm.

587

:

Maria Otto: Um, we took that from Tim

Bits instead of that, it's check bites.

588

:

Ah, check is the last four,

letters of my maiden name.

589

:

Oh, okay.

590

:

CZYK.

591

:

We're calling 'em check bites.

592

:

They're actually mini Ky.

593

:

My family is very polish and proud.

594

:

And so there we go.

595

:

Our family recipe on the Geor

chick side of my family, so

596

:

we sell those by the dozen.

597

:

but then the croissants, I just learned

how to make them and they were delicious.

598

:

but we try to focus on, I.

599

:

At little pastry shop, we try to focus

on smaller portions, for people who don't

600

:

have a bunch of people at home, maybe.

601

:

Or maybe it's just them.

602

:

And like I said, it feels, you always

feel like, oh geez, I got this big

603

:

pie, or this big cinnamon roll, or,

and ours are more like, you could, one

604

:

person can enjoy that and be happy.

605

:

doesn't, you don't have to feel

like you're missing out because

606

:

you've got, no one with you.

607

:

That's kind of what we, that's

why we sell Slice of Cake.

608

:

We have customers that come in twice a

week for one piece of cake for themselves.

609

:

And how wonderful is that?

610

:

I love that.

611

:

Cliff Duvernois: Beautiful.

612

:

Yes.

613

:

You made a comment

before Polish and proud.

614

:

Maria Otto: Yes.

615

:

Cliff Duvernois: So I

gotta ask this question.

616

:

And if you attack me with

a knife, that's okay.

617

:

So my mom was.

618

:

A stickler when it came to

making her own pie crust.

619

:

Yes.

620

:

And she could tell by the feel,

and we used half a can of Crisco.

621

:

Everything that's bad for you these

days went into that pie crust.

622

:

Yeah.

623

:

And it was absolutely sublime.

624

:

You make your own pie crust,

625

:

Maria Otto: correct.

626

:

From scratch.

627

:

Actually everything we

make is from scratch.

628

:

there is, and

629

:

Cliff Duvernois: it's your recipe though?

630

:

Maria Otto: Yes.

631

:

Me and my mom.

632

:

Cliff Duvernois: Not from a box.

633

:

Maria Otto: Correct.

634

:

Okay.

635

:

And you'd be surprised, I didn't

realize how many bakeries actually just

636

:

use a mix and they put it together.

637

:

Yeah.

638

:

and we don't, and so

that is why we are small.

639

:

Because that stuff takes time.

640

:

everything is in small batches

and we have some people come in

641

:

and say, is this what you have?

642

:

Yeah.

643

:

This is it.

644

:

You know what I mean?

645

:

Right.

646

:

'cause it takes time and we don't

sell anything day old and we don't

647

:

freeze anything and bring it back out.

648

:

It's, we sell out quite a bit

because we make a certain amount

649

:

and when it's gone, it's gone.

650

:

But we're happy and confident knowing

that every customer who walks through

651

:

the door gets something fresh.

652

:

Cliff Duvernois: I think a lot of

people miss the fact that especially

653

:

when it comes to pies, one thing

that I learned is the pie crust is

654

:

just as important as the filling.

655

:

Maria Otto: Oh, absolutely.

656

:

Cliff Duvernois: You know?

657

:

Yes.

658

:

And I think a lot of people just

gloss it over 'cause they go right.

659

:

For the filling and, and the, pie

crust is almost like a slice of bread.

660

:

Maria Otto: Yeah.

661

:

Cliff Duvernois: just something to eat,

662

:

Maria Otto: right?

663

:

Yeah.

664

:

Yep.

665

:

Exactly.

666

:

Cliff Duvernois: So let's go back.

667

:

you've gotten the store, you were working

on getting the menu, you're getting the

668

:

equipment, the refrigerator, the stove

and everything else like into place.

669

:

Yes.

670

:

Why don't you talk to us about some

of those early challenges about

671

:

getting this place up and running,

672

:

Maria Otto: trying to figure

out where to put things.

673

:

We're not a very large space and so

a vertical height was our friend.

674

:

but yeah, the vibe, we painted the walls

bright purple, matched our logo and

675

:

people were like, you're gonna do purple?

676

:

Yes.

677

:

And it was kind of one of those things

like, I'm doing whatever I wanna do now.

678

:

You know, like going

back, this is my space.

679

:

Yes.

680

:

I'm, you know, we're doing that.

681

:

It's bright, it's happy, and we

wanted it to be open as possible.

682

:

And we wanted to see a little visibility

back into what we're doing there to

683

:

make sure people can see, we're working

on this, we've got fresh cookies

684

:

coming outta the oven right now.

685

:

you can't beat that.

686

:

Cliff Duvernois: No, you can't.

687

:

I'm getting more hungry.

688

:

Maria Otto: I know.

689

:

Yeah, you're gonna

690

:

Cliff Duvernois: have to try.

691

:

one of the things that you've repeatedly

mentioned throughout this interview,

692

:

and I want to take a couple minutes

just to explore it, and I have to

693

:

say it's actually quite beautiful.

694

:

Every step of the way.

695

:

You have had phenomenal

family and friend support.

696

:

Huge.

697

:

Huge.

698

:

Yes.

699

:

And even like when you talked about on

Facebook, I can imagine that Facebook

700

:

was a huge driver just to get people

to start coming through your door.

701

:

'cause it's different when

you know somebody could go

702

:

to your house or whatever.

703

:

It's to get something.

704

:

But now you're actually located at a

storefront and have to drive downtown.

705

:

Yeah.

706

:

To be able to get it.

707

:

share with us a little bit

about your thoughts about

708

:

having that friend and family.

709

:

Maria Otto: Thank God.

710

:

to have people really just come

around you and say, what do you need?

711

:

Let's make it happen.

712

:

And even, members of the community

that come in, we will have customers.

713

:

Come in place their order.

714

:

Somebody comes in behind them and they'll

say, you have to have the cherry pie.

715

:

Try the cherry skull.

716

:

The brownies are to die for the

717

:

Cliff Duvernois: customers

are your best, best marketers.

718

:

They sell for us.

719

:

Yes.

720

:

And that

721

:

Maria Otto: is so cool.

722

:

And we have made, we've been open for

almost two years now, and the regulars

723

:

that we already have established and

how friendly and, it's phenomenal.

724

:

just amazing.

725

:

Cliff Duvernois: It's interesting when,

when they can come through the door and

726

:

you just look at 'em and you're like,

oh, you're here for your cinnamon roll.

727

:

Maria Otto: Yeah.

728

:

our cashier, Trudy, she knows a

lot of people's orders by heart.

729

:

They walk in, they're like,

cake slices, peanut butter.

730

:

This week she'll pull it out of the, and

she knows that he wants a slice of cake.

731

:

'cause he comes every

week to get a new slice.

732

:

So beautiful.

733

:

Yeah.

734

:

Cliff Duvernois: Maria, if somebody is

coming here for the first time, what would

735

:

be something that you would recommend?

736

:

That they try?

737

:

Maria Otto: The cinnamon rolls.

738

:

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

739

:

Maria Otto: And the cherry almond scones.

740

:

It was the first s scone that I ever

made, and it was the one that my

741

:

brother said, these are phenomenal.

742

:

You gotta, you gotta sell these.

743

:

So,

744

:

Cliff Duvernois: yeah.

745

:

Gig.

746

:

Yep.

747

:

And if somebody does want to come here

and they wanna check you out, they want

748

:

to try cinnamon roll or the, the cherry

almond scone, how can they do that?

749

:

Maria Otto: We are located downtown, bay

City on the corner of Center and Adams.

750

:

So you'll hear our building referred

to as the city market building

751

:

or the Old Penny's Building.

752

:

So the address is 4 0 1

Center Avenue, Bay City.

753

:

Cliff Duvernois: And what's that?

754

:

What's your website?

755

:

Maria Otto: our website

is www.lpastryshop.com.

756

:

Cliff Duvernois: Awesome.

757

:

Yep.

758

:

Maria, thank you so much for

taking time to chat with us today.

759

:

I really do appreciate it.

760

:

Maria Otto: I appreciate you asking,

761

:

Cliff Duvernois: and for audience, you can

always roll on over to total michigan.com

762

:

and click on Maria's interview and

get the links she mentioned above.

763

:

We'll see you next time when we

talk to another Michigan or doing

764

:

some pretty extraordinary things.

765

:

We'll see you then.

766

:

I.

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