It’s always good to see a new pasty shop open, especially after one seemingly closed every few months after COVID happened. Sposito’s Pasties came onto my radar through Instagram and I couldn’t wait to visit since it was on my regular US-2 route. 

Just west of The Bridge, it took them less than six months to open their doors to get ready for the summer rush of 2023. In addition to pasties, they sell homemade fudge, cookies and soup. Upon opening, they made beef and veggie pasties, and for those with a sweet tooth, a Traverse City cherry pasty, which is what some people in my family call their best pasty.

In a short amount of time, they seemed to build a decent following through social media circles. Despite a different name on their main website and Google listing (Sposito Pastie), it’s seemed to work.

This pasty was built differently than most in Michigan, at least that I’ve seen. I put in my notes “lazy handle” and as seen in the picture, they fold over the crust and then kind of do a faux crimping on the sides. Since I try to eat all of my reviewed pasties the same way, in my hand starting from one end, this method didn’t work the best.

It took me three or four bites of crust to get to the insides, which isn’t what I want. The insides had thickly sliced potatoes and patches of ground beef. Unlike other places that slice their potatoes, these ones were a little too thick, which likely led to the poor mixing, as maybe only one in every four or five bites contained meat. 

The overall taste was fine and I may have given another few points if there was equal dispersion of meat and potatoes throughout. However, even though I liked the bites with meat, they were too few. 

Outside of the crust being a little too thick, it served its purpose. 

I don’t want to sway people from visiting a new place, but I don’t give out fake ratings. I’ll check out Sposito’s again at some point in the future to see if they changed their recipe or how they make their pasties, but until then, these potato-heavy pictures will tell the story.

Like most pasty shops in the area, they close before November and open near the end of May.

Taste: 3.5 (out of 5)
Crust: 2.5 (out of 5)
Pasty Presentation: 2 (out of 5)
The Shop: 3 (out of 3)
Would I come back for Pasties?: 1 (out of 2)

Total Pasty Rating: 12 (of 20 points)

(Reviewed Summer 2023)