DETROIT (WXYZ) — There is a company that once took a chance on Detroit while taking a chance on themselves. That company is McClure’s Pickles.
Nov. 14 is National Pickle Day, a perfect opportunity to showcase this company.
In 2010, two brothers, Joe and Bob McClure, opened a factory on St. Aubin Street not too far from the Russell Center on Detroit’s east side.
7 Action News reporter Syma Chowdhry checked it out to see their recipe for success.
If you are wondering, it’s #NationalPickleDay and we are at @mcclurespickles ! pic.twitter.com/gmAtVD8T0w
— Syma Chowdhry (@SymaChowdhry) November 14, 2019
“Two brothers teamed up, one is in Brooklyn, one is in Detroit," Joe explained. "And they resurrected their family pickle recipe and are sharing it with the world."
The family tradition and pickle recipe dates back generations.
“Every summer my grandpa would take us down to Eastern Market at 4 a.m. in the morning to pick up this fresh bounty of cucumbers and then we were pickling all day,” Joe said.
In 2006, when Bob was an actor in New York and Joe was a grad student at Wayne State, both had dreams to start making pickles using the secret recipe.
More on #nationalpickleday at @mcclurespickles pic.twitter.com/sAThK07esp
— Syma Chowdhry (@SymaChowdhry) November 14, 2019
Bob did so in Brooklyn, while Joe started making them in Troy. In 2010, McClure’s was booming. That’s when the brothers opened a factory in a former American Axel building, going from gears to gherkins.
Today, the company has 25 employees that work with 8,000 pounds of cucumbers a day.
“A lot of these pickles that you saw today are going to Australia, they are going to New Zealand, they are going to Canada,” Joe said.
Talk about "jarring" work. Workers, including Bob and their mom Jennifer, hand fill 6,000 jars each day.
After nearly 10 years, the founders of this multi-million dollar company "relish" in their success.
“Positive attention to Detroit, outside of Detroit,” Joe added. “We are here to stay.”
