Hanna Meat Pies

May 13, 2020

Best laid plans … and how to make it work anyway

Justin Hanna has been methodically developing his business, Hanna Meat Pies since 2015 when he began selling his line of “Seriously Good Pies”.

The key to the success of the company thus far has been the taste and texture of the pies, and one of the secrets behind that is the use of two kinds of pastry.

The pie base is a butter pastry, and the pies are covered with a puff pastry that is golden, flaky and rich.

The fillings, which are sourced locally wherever possible, are all prepared by cooking meat and vegetables separately and then simmering them together for flavour. The original Hanna pies included: a beef pie, with red wine flavoured boeuf bourguignon filling; a chicken pie with white wine flavoured filling similar to coq au vin; and a vegetable pie with creamy sheep's feta and other spices. Other varieties are available as well, and new recipes are in development. Until recently, they were being made at a shared kitchen space at St. Paul’s Anglican in Sydenham.

“I realised a couple of years ago that I needed my own commercial kitchen space in order to keep my existing customers fully stocked, before I could expand the business,” he said last week, from his new kitchen on George Street in Sydenham (in the same building as Sydenham One Stop).

It took a lot longer to get the new kitchen up and running than Justin could have foreseen, but, finally, as of early March when this article was originally being prepared, the kitchen was just about ready.

In addition to ample freezer space and the usual capacity of a commercial kitchen, it has a brand-new pie machine.

“The new machine, the new space and the fact that it is available to me at all times, are game changers for my business,” he said.

But the new kitchen, and the delays getting it up and running, have come at a cost.

“I can’t get financing from a bank for this business. They have never been interested. Without the backing of CFDC, I wouldn’t have a business. There is no chance,” he said.

The loans, advice, and support that he has received from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation have enabled Justin Hanna to bring his kitchen to completion and finally be able to expand his business.

In an interview at the soon to be finished space in early March, Justin was trying to stay patient waiting for last approvals for his new space. He had done everything he could do, but the timing was now out of his hands.

Six week’s later, the kitchen has received its final health unit inspection, and Justin is good to go. The only problem comes from something else that is out of his hands, COVID-19. A major chunk of his core clientele, including a number of restaurants and Royal Military College, are currently closed. That cut his sales by over 50%, not an ideal scenario by any means.

Fortunately, sales at Glenburnie Grocery, Limestone Creamery, Trousdale’s Foodland, Gimour’s Meats, Mike Dean’s in Sharbot Lake and at some specialty food stores in Kingston have been brisk, and Justin is looking at some new opportunities to expand.

The other aspect to the new location is to open his pie factory outlet, and that has also been slowed down by COVID-19. Complications around retail sales during the lockdown have delayed that as well

Once things settle, however, new products, including dessert pies, will be available, at least on weekends, at the Hanna meat pies outlet. With a new kitchen, Hanna meat pies will also be in a position to expand its product line for the wholesale market as well.

Everything about the future for Hanna Meat Pies looks bright, except for the very near future.

“I have been and will continue to be leaning on the Frontenac CFDC through this. It’s nice to know there is someone on my side,” Justin said.