Brad Wender and Brianna Willman of Iron Mountain recently took over the business at 204 E. B St. in Iron Mountain but said the signature pasties will remain the same.

“People do not like change … it has worked this long and we want to keep it going,” Willman said.

The origins of Jean Kay’s Pasties date back seven decades, when Jean Kay Harsch began selling pasties like her grandmother used to make out of a small bakery in Iron Mountain in the 1970s.

Since then, the local Jean Kay’s Pasties has changed hands a few times. Steve and Janice Beauchamp purchased the business in the 1980s and sold it to Laurie and Guy Michaud in 2007. Then Tena and Dean Anderson bought it in 2018.

JEAN KAY’S PASTIES is at 204 E. B St. in Iron Mountain. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

Wender, who until recently worked in construction with his father, said he had never given the pasty business much thought until recently.

“This is something totally new to me,” Wender said. “It just kind of randomly popped up as a business opportunity and it has been around here for a long time, so I took the opportunity.”

Wender spent the weeks before taking over Jean Kay’s Pasties learning everything he could from Tena Anderson about the business and how to make the pasties like they have always been made.

“Tena’s been great, she helped us all along the way to get it figured out,” Willman said. The other owner, Dean Anderson, passed away unexpectedly in early December, according to his obituary.

Willman, an accountant, works at a local accounting firm and will not only handle the bookkeeping at Jean Kay’s Pasties but help out when able.

The shop has one employee but Wender said he is looking for more and urges anyone interested to apply.

Wender and Willman said learning the business and managing the long hours has been a challenge but fun at the same time.

“It is rewarding, keeping the staple of Jean Kay’s and a Yooper tradition in the community,” Wender said.

Jean Kay’s Pasties are made fresh daily and never frozen. Willman said they make about 200 pasties a day.

What sets Jean Kay’s Pasties apart from other pasties in the area is they use flank steak rather than ground beef or pork, something that loyal customers appreciate.

“That is the way pasties used to be made. We have so many people that I have met that come in and say, ‘These are exactly how my grandmother used to make them for kids,'” Willman said. “That is why they love them, they are traditional.”

In addition to the traditional beef pasties with or without rutabagas, Jean Kay’s Pasties also offers some popular specialty pasties such as vegetarian, bratwurst, breakfast and chicken broccoli. The smaller, fruit-filled dessert pasties are in demand as well.

While the traditional recipe will always stay the same, Wender and Willman are considering expanding on the variety of specialty pasties, including a pot pie type that may debut around Thanksgiving. Willman said they would also like to do shipping in the future, as they often receive calls from all over the country asking if they do ship.

Wender and Willman have three children, Lane, Lilly Ann and Hudson.

Jean Kay’s Pasties is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Summer hours of 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday are coming soon.