SHEBOYGAN — During the pandemic, a lot of local businesses' backs were up against the wall. Fewer people were shopping and dining out. As a result, some businesses weren't able to stay open through the pandemic. Others just got by. In order to stay afloat, businesses had to come up with unique ways to attract customers.
So with the future of one family restaurant in doubt, two brothers came up with an idea they thought would be a temporary solution. It turned out to be more than they could have ever imagined.
Brothers and co-owners of Ranieri's Four of a Kind Bar and Grillneeded a way to supplement the lost income as fewer people dined at their Sheboygan restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That's when they decided to sell pastys, the meat and veggie-filled pastry popular in the Midwest.
“We figured it would be something that we’d be running out of the back of our bar and grill just for boosting sales and hopefully bring in some extra customers as we went along," Tony Ranieri, the co-owner of Ranieris Four of a Kind Bar and Grill, said.
In January 2021, the first time they sold pastys, the brothers, Tony and John, made 1,000 of them thinking it would last a week. They sold out in 48 hours. Soon after, other local businesses started calling them asking to sell their product.
“And that gave us a lot of energy, hey we could make this into something. People are calling us to get into their stores," John Ranieri said.
That’s when things started to change fast. It was clear the pastys were a hit, so the brothers started the Sheboygan Pasty Company. Then they bought a commercial kitchen space to keep up with demand. The space worked for a while until they outgrew that space too. Now, they're looking for a new kitchen to accomplish their big goals.
Cooking Up Success: Sheboygan brother's pasty business takes over the Midwest in just 3 years
“Currently, there is not any nationwide frozen pasty company, and our goal (is) to be that," Tony said.
In about three years, the Sheboygan Pasty Company went from making 0 pastys a week to 4,500. They grew from 0 stores to being in about 300 locations across the Midwest like Sendik's and Woodman's. They have four core products: a breakfast pasty, a brat pasty, a beef pasty, and an Italian pasty. There are occasional holiday specials, and the company will soon expand to other adjacent types of foods.
“Looking sometime beginning of the next year going into making empanadas and calzones also," John Ranieri said.
The restaurant is doing well too. So what started as a temporary solution during the pandemic, has become their primary focus, and they’re just getting started.
The Sheboygan Pasty Company is also one of the competitors in the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest. It highlights the state's manufacturing industry. To see a list of competitors and vote for them, click here.
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