Oct. 13, 2007 — If you want to get a rise out of Janet Archer’s family, ask them if she’s a good cook. “They’d just laugh,” she says.
But these days, it’s Archer who’s laughing, although if she could ever get the oven mitts off her hands, she’d probably be scratching her head. “I really wasn’t much of a cook,” she confesses. Apparently, though, her late mother was.
Archer is the founder and owner — not to mention marketing manager, distributor, cook and dishwasher — of “Mom’s Meat Pies.” It officially became a business two years ago when she brought in some samples to employees at The Fruit Bowl in Wheatley Center, who loved them and agreed to sell them. Now she also supplies Marina Market, and she’s selling out of a kiosk at Yacht Haven Grande, where she serves them up hot every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon. The price is $8 at Yacht Haven; lower when store bought.
Archer won’t give away her pastry secrets or much about her seasonings, but she will tell you that the name of her business is a tribute to her mother’s home cooking. She learned how to cook the pot pies in 1989 when her mother, renowned for her turkey pot pies, went blind, and Archer stepped in to help. She learned how to make the pastry and the filling, and started making turkey pot pies regularly for her mom until her death in 2000. Then she branched out to a chicken and beef filling.
“What is so good about the pies is the crust,” says Agnes Kline, a friend of Archer’s who has been enjoying the pies for years when Archer would contribute them to holiday gatherings. “It’s just unreal,” she oozed. “Melt-in-your-mouth tasty – you know? She’s very meticulous and she doesn’t skimp on her seasoning or the fillings. Oh my goodness, it’s mouth-watering!”
Archer would bring her creations into Charlotte Amalie High School, where she was a Spanish teacher. She also found devotees among parishioners at Safe Christian Fellowship Church Alive in Christ in Anna’s Retreat where she serves as a lay minister.
Along the way, she got some advice from the Small Business Development Center, a division of the University of the Virgin Islands, dedicated to helping small entrepreneurs develop a sound business plan.
“They need to show, one, that there’s a demand [for their product or service], two, that they have the ability, and three, profitability — will this make money,” said Daryl Edwards, a business counselor at the center. Edwards sampled Archer’s cooking and was smitten, but, he said, she had a packaging problem.
“I tasted it and it was very good, and I wanted to get in touch with her but the packaging didn’t have any contact information on it. It was one of those 'duh' moments,” he laughed.
It wasn’t a total slip on Archer’s part. She said she was a bit concerned about generating more demand than she could meet. But eventually, she did add the contact information. Now the oven is almost always on inside her two bedroom apartment in Contant, and her redwood dining room table has morphed into a production line.
She’s contending with the company’s name. “Mom’s Meat Pies” is a little off since she’s now featuring a soy-griller filling, a vegetable pie, a spinach quiche pie and a salt fish pie.
Edwards says it’s just a sign of a business keeping pace with the changing marketplace. The Fruit Bowl’s manager, James Clark, agrees.
“There’s always evolution in business. We’ve seen plenty of changes in companies as clients’ needs grow. It should probably be ‘Mom’s Unique Pies,’ or just ‘Mom’s Pies,” he said. “It’s confusing! I may ask her about that when she comes in.”
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
