(rock music) - [Tom] On this tasty episode of UTR, we're in Michigan's middle earth for a sweet scoop.

A mother-daughter popcorn powerhouse, a bakery straight from Europe, and a toy and truck museum that'll light up your fire engine.

Get ready to explore the cool people, places and things that make the Great Lakes Bay Region just right.

(upbeat music) (fans cheering) (water splashing) - [Presenter] The Stahls, motors and music experience features a collection of automated music machines, neon signs, gas pumps, and 150 years of automotive history.

More info at stahlsauto.com.

We've been around the world, but there's one place we keep coming back to.

And the more we explore, the more we realize it's the place to be.

I'm Tom Daldin.

- I'm Jim Edelman.

- And this is Under the Radar of Michigan.

- Under the Radar of Michigan.

(rock music) - Now, if your sweet tooth has been taunting you lately or you just want to feel like a kid again, point your car.

Or in our case, this car towards Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region.

They've got everything from handmade sweets to vintage fire engines.

- You know, and we've said it before and we'll say it again.

This region is packed with personality, history and seriously good eats.

(grunts) - And I'm hungry.

Mm-hmm.

Yep, this part of Michigan is where cozy towns meet creative treats.

And whether you're here for a bite, a blast from the past, or just a break from the ordinary, Great Lakes Bay has you covered.

- [Jim] From flaky pastries in Midland and craft popcorn and Saginaw, to vintage fire trucks in Bay City and hand scooped ice cream that's pure Michigan magic.

We're eating, exploring, and uncovering the fun side of the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Hitting three towns in one unforgettable adventure.

- [Tom] Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region is nestled right where your index finger and your thumb collide.

Think Midland, Bay City and Saginaw, each with their own flavor and flair.

It's where a ton of UTR adventures await.

(logo whooshing) Now, our first stop is in Midland for a little bakery with an even bigger backstory.

Hmm.

Baked goods.

(chuckles) - [Jim] Sergey's Bakery opened in January 2025, but the story starts years and thousands of miles away.

Husband and wife duos, Natalia and Maga and Sergey and Christina came to Midland in 2022, fleeing their home of Ukraine as refugees.

As fate and flour would have it, they all met right here, bonded over their shared love of wholesome food made from scratch and decided to bake their way into the hearts of their new hometown.

- [Tom] But this place is about more than great food.

They've made it their mission to hire and train young people, pay fair wages without relying on tips and educate the community about what's in their food and why it matters.

From sourdough and Ukrainian rye to bask cheesecake and picture-perfect pavlova, everything is made from scratch and served with care.

- To learn how this bakery rose from a dream, we chatted with Natalia to find out why Midland was the perfect place to start fresh.

So one of the things that I like about the makeup of the partners in Sergey's is you've got two nutritionists on staff, you've got a pro marketer and of course, you have Sergey churning out the baked goods.

- Yeah.

- I mean, what a great combination- - Yeah.

- Of partners to put this together.

- Yeah, so we've been just lucky we met each other here and we were the only two families as refugees who came from Ukraine.

And it's just a miracle I think for this small city that it happened because if they wouldn't come here, we would be the only family.

And that was our goal, of course, to open coffee shop and bakery But with Sergey, it came to a bigger project and we are actually making artisan bread and yeah, the team is unique.

Everyone is doing their own part and we've been doing all that for many, many years.

So we're just blessed, I think - It's funny you should say that 'cause we always say two men, one brain, and you guys are four folks.

- Yeah.

- Four folks, one great bakery.

- That's pretty.

- But what I also love about what you're doing is your ingredients are pure.

- [Natalia] Yes.

- And it's healthy.

- Yes.

- And you're trying to, I guess, share that with the community, the fact that healthy food is better for you, right?

- Yeah, yeah, whenever I'm working here and communicating with the customers, I'm trying to educate that, look, this bread has only four ingredients.

Flour, yeast, which our own starter, right?

Salt and water.

Water is very well purified.

Flour is Italian high protein and it all handmade.

So it will really nourish you.

- Another thing I want to compliment you on is your coffee.

I'm a coffee snob.

I only have one coffee a day in the morning and it's gotta be a really- - It should be perfect.

- Good.

Yes.

- Yeah, it's the starter of your day.

- And a lot of people, they dump all kinds of stuff in their... You know, a coffee is good when you can pick up a black coffee and drink it and it's wonderful.

This is wonderful coffee.

- Yes, yes, I agree with you.

It's a big, big deal for us to have good coffee and for me, I'm also coffee snob and to brew coffee is a science.

The water equipment, beans and the grinding size.

Actually, the grinding size is the most important.

And we're measuring it in microns and when baristas came, they were amazed that they're becoming scientist now.

But I'm lucky I have all the smartest people of this city.

So yeah.

- Now, getting to your pastries.

(laughs) I recognize quite a few things in over in the case and I cannot wait to dig into some of those, but what exactly is a pavlova?

- Okay, all right.

So all desserts are European style, right?

Pavlova is Australian dessert.

It was invented in Australia by a ballerina, so it's very light and crispy, but it's gluten-free.

It has meringue shell outside, pure berry jam with no sugar inside and cream cheese and some real whipped cream, which we whip here in the kitchen and fresh berries.

Altogether, it's like a dance at ballerina den.

- I'm just gonna say, what you just said is like poetry.

- He's a poetry, look at this.

- [Tom] Oh, I know.

- Well, the brilliance in doing this show is we've eaten at some very good places around the state and you know, it just- - I like your show.

- Totally, I mean, it brings back memories of places we featured and I think, you know, this is one of the reasons how he's stayed skinny and I've stayed chubby is that when those roll out we attack 'em, you know?

So, you know, we are very blessed to be able to do this, but I think one of the things is just talking to folks like you who have this passion for what they do.

- Yes, yes.

It's all about passion.

If there is no passion or love in your hands, I think it would be pretty hard to make this product.

And then when we hire people, we find the same people with the same attitude who are in love with the product.

And then we want to share the love with community.

But they first, Midland is unique.

They first share it with us.

When we opened, everyone came.

I was like ready to say welcome and they were all saying welcome to Midland.

So it's very unique situation with unique product and very special people and they deserve the best bread, the best croissants and best pavlova.

- [Tom] Yep, Sergei's Bakery in Midland isn't just a bakery, it's a bridge to another world lovingly built one sweet layer at a time and we were more than happy to cross that bridge.

(bright music) (logo whooshing) - So we popped over to downtown Saginaw and you know, we're not the only things popping.

There's a shop here that's popping with pride, purpose, and a whole lot of flavor.

And you know us, it's not the last time you're gonna hear pop from us in the next few minutes.

Kakes the Great Popcorn Company is a snack shop run by dynamic mother-daughter duo, Alesha Martin Lane and Kaylynn Martin.

From bold flavors to big dreams, these two have popped their way into the hearts and tummies of locals and visitors alike.

- We grabbed some popped kernels and got to hang out with Alesha and Kaylynn and hear how popcorn became their passion project and family legacy.

Hi.

- Hi.

- Hi.

(group laughing) - I understand this whole thing started with a bad trip to the dentist.

- Yes.

- What happened?

- So me and my mom actually went to the orthodontist and they told me that I needed braces.

And I was like, "Okay," well this is right when COVID had just hit too.

And so, my mom had to close her shop down, so I didn't wanna put that cost on her.

And I thought braces really were only $100.

And so, I was like, "You know, I got it, I got it."

And so, I came up with the idea.

I told her I start selling to my friends and family and my mom was like, "Nope, this is too good to not sell."

So on my 15th birthday, she gave me corporation papers to start Kakes the Great.

- 15, I saw the paper route and I think I was still wearing diapers.

(laughing) 15, oh my God, that's amazing.

- Absolutely.

- That is shocking, but how does that make you feel that a 15-year-old kid thinks of how they can help with their braces?

- Well, she has always met.

Kaylynn has three brothers and so, she's my only girl.

And so, she's always been helpful.

So she's always, I gotta help my little brother 'cause she's a minute older than him 'cause she's a twin.

And so, she's always, I gotta help my little brother, I gotta help my big brothers.

She's always played the role of big sister.

So even when it comes to me, she's always my help mate.

She always was, so it was no surprise that she wanted to help me pay for these $100 braces and I'm like- - Right, $100.

- "Okay, yeah, okay, so let's do this."

And then as she progressed in her...

The way so she was innovating flavors and coming up with different things.

My business mind, because I'm sitting at home, I'm in the house sitting at home and I can't work but I'm thinking of ways of doing things.

I'm thinking of what we can do and I'm like, "You know, what can we do?

What can we do?"

And my son said, "Ma, you can't just keep sitting on this couch eating that popcorn."

(Tom laughing) (Jim laughing) Ding.

- Ding.

(group laughing) - Ding.

Absolutely, absolutely.

I was saying, we could sell this.

And so, we started kind of promoting it on just regular Facebook, to our friends, to our family and then they loved it.

We started selling it in little boxes and then I started coming up with getting really creative and then that's just kind of where it took off from there.

She started out with what?

The Peppermint Bark?

- [Kaylynn] Yes.

- Yep.

- Yep.

- And then she developed some of her other flavors.

The Black Girl Magic was another one.

Cupid Shuffle around for Valentine's Day.

- Valentine.

- Yeah, and then it just kind of took off from there.

And so, we took it from that platform where we just kind of sell into direct to online.

So we launched an online platform in 2022, and in '23 we opened the store.

- If people want, let's say you don't live in Saginaw.

How can people find you?

- They can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, all at Kakes the Great Popcorn Company.

And then our website is kakesthegreat.com.

- Where'd the name come from, Kakes the Great?

Are You Kakes?

- I am.

- How did that nickname come about?

- Tell it, Mommy.

You wanna tell it?

- Well, I mean, look at her.

She's as cute and delicious as a little cupcake, isn't she?

So Kakes was her nickname from childhood and she's always been a great and inspiration to me and always kept me motivated as a mom.

So Kakes the Great is just something I've always called her.

And then so, we just added popcorn company 'cause that's just what we do.

- What's that like to hear your mom say that about you?

- Amazing.

I look up to my mom.

I've always looked up to my mom since I was seven, so- - Well, she's taller.

(Kaylynn laughing) - Yeah, she gets that.

So she, yeah, all her brothers are 5'8" or better.

Kaylynn is... Are you 5'1"?

- Five foot.

- Five foot tall.

I don't know, it's weird.

And we all look down at her.

Her twin brother is taller than me.

So yeah, it's different, it's different.

- [Jim] Sweet, savory, spicy, you name it, they pop it.

But more than that, Kakes the Great Popcorn Company is a space of inspiration and connection.

Plus, we left with enough popcorn to host our own movie night marathon.

(logo whooshing) - Now, just a few minutes away in Bay City, we found one of the most surprising and smile inducing places in the entire region.

It's got flashing lights, toys, and enough stories to fill a whole firehouse because, well, it does.

The Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum is where history, hobby and horsepower collide.

From pedal cars and Tonkas to one of a kind New York super firetruck.

This place is packed with wonders.

This truck once battled blazes in New York City, including near the Empire State Building, until its pressure proved too powerful.

Now, it's being lovingly restored by Bay City volunteers who wouldn't give it up even when New York came calling.

So to light up the past and understand the passion behind this place, we met up with Museum President Dale Bash and Historian, Mike Snyder.

- So this is the kind of place that draws you in time and time again.

You can come here repeatedly.

We've been here twice now and we absolutely love what you have going on here.

Give us the rundown of how all this stuff came together.

- So this started as the collection of Jim Dobson at the end of the Korean War.

And he amassed at one time more than 100 fire trucks that now we maintain and curate at 60, about 20 of them operational.

And through the years, he also picked up about 16,500 toys.

And so, this collection has been expanding and curating and developing over the last 65 years.

- The amount of toys you have and the amount of trucks, it's overwhelming - Now, and our whole goal, three things.

- Yeah.

- We're trying to preserve the firefighting heritage of the Great Lakes Bay Region.

The second part is to educate people about that history and also introduce science and engineering and math to people.

So we make it kind of fun learning and then really celebrate the unique part of our history here.

So we have lots of stories of unique technology, unique bravery that have occurred in the region over the last 150 years.

- What do you love about this place?

- Well, the biggest thing that you get here at being a volunteer, 'cause we're all volunteers, is that watching a kid's face light up, watching a grandpa talk to his kid about I played with that toy when I was a kid.

Talking about old firefighters that come in and said, "I rode on that fire truck."

And then we have classrooms like Mike had mentioned with some more education about how the fire alarms worked and so forth.

You get your reward from watching those kids and the grandparents light up.

- You guys even have a boat here, Dale.

You were showing us that boat?

- Well, one of the historical things about this area was the Defoe Shipbuilding, and the Saginaw Marine Historical Society saves lighthouses and ships.

We have an actual Defoe ship.

We share a portion of our museum with Defoe and the Saginaw Marine Historical Society.

The Defoe ship company even built yachts for presidents back in his time.

So it's something to really see and a lot of people come just to enjoy it.

- [Jim] What got him into it?

- Pardon?

- What got him into it?

- Well, he started working as a volunteer fireman in the township here.

And then it just grew from there and he had a love for fire and toys and he just got it created.

And we're a public 501(c)(3) now.

He's donated all to the public.

And so, we're all volunteers.

Always looking for more volunteers by the way.

Oh, we're expanding and we're growing and we're working on an 1890 firehouse in downtown Bay City.

And to make that a year round learning center in education.

- You don't even have to be into fire trucks to just come in here and just have a wonderful time.

I mean, you guys must... Where's the passion come from for you guys?

- So I'm a long-term fire service historian.

I've been involved in both the municipal and industrial fire service.

So this is just an extension of that and really trying to take this collection, make it accessible to the community, and really work on promoting that technology from our first truck in 1854, all the way through our more modern trucks in the 1990s.

- Oh, I mean, I collect paper clips.

I mean, oh, I feel kind of inadequate.

- But you use them so they come in, they come out, it's constant size of your- - That's the flaw in my copy.

If people want to get involved, they want to volunteer, if they want to find out more about the museum or they want to come here, how can they get more information?

- So three ways to get ahold of us, toll free number 888-888-1270, toyandfirehousemuseum.org is our website.

And you can follow us on Facebook.

We post activities every week that we're working on, including our restoration efforts, so that virtually, you can be really part of our community.

But as Dale mentioned, we live on the power of volunteers and I don't care what your background is, we have a place for you here, from mechanical to financial to people who want to be docent.

We have a place for you and we definitely could use you to help us continue the mission of this museum.

- [Tom] 16,000 toys, hundreds of trucks.

The Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum is one epic museum and it's almost entirely run by volunteers.

Visitors come from around the globe to see the collection and now, we see why.

And just down the road, they're restoring an 1890 firehouse that'll soon become an educational center.

Tons of history, safety, and fun all under one roof.

Totally worth a road trip.

(logo whooshing) - Now, if you're still hungry for more.

And let's face it, we always are.

This next stop blends homemade treats with hometown pride and a scoop of pure Michigan joy.

- [Tom] Mix fresh Michigan milk, homegrown sugar, and a scoop of state pride, and you've got Michigan Cream & Sugar.

A frozen treat that's as local as the cow in a cornfield just down the street and twice as sweet.

- [Jim] The operation churns out small batch ice cream that's rich, creamy, and pure mitten magic with the milk coming straight from the family farm across the state.

And the sugar, it's all natural pioneer sugar made from Michigan grown sugar beets.

Basically, it's Great Lakes goodness in every bite.

- To learn what makes this ice cream so dreamy, we caught up with Michigan Cream & Sugar General Manager, Tim Mangan in Saginaw for the scoop behind the scoop.

I love your slogan, freshly churned, locally sourced.

And after seeing the operation back there, that's exactly what you guys are.

- Yeah, absolutely.

We make it all from scratch.

Every single flavor is made from scratch.

They'll have a different formula to make sure it's the perfect consistency in every single scoop the you get.

- That's what I love about you, I can tell you're an ice cream nerd, which is what the best kind of nerd to be.

(laughs) - What's amazing is you've got two locations and a production plant and you'd expect the arch of the production to be just so much more and bigger.

I mean, kind of run us through that.

- We're excited.

This is new for us.

We just opened our production facility here this year.

We were making our ice cream in about 280 square feet of space for the past five years.

And we were doing about 200 pounds a week and 200 gallons a week.

So now, so this little scoop shot here in Old Town, Saginaw, we're thrilled to be here.

In the front of the shop is kind of like the tip of iceberg because the back of the shop, there's a full bakery in the back.

We make all the mix-ins from scratch, ragi bites, caramel, fudge, and then we have a dedicated high hygiene area, our dairy plants, which it's pretty small in terms of a manufacturing plant.

But for us, we're everything one badge over time.

- I do love the fact that you guys are connecting families with farms.

You guys are totally local.

Everything from the dairy to the sugar is pioneer sugar, but you see their trucks with the sugar beets all the time going up and down the highway.

But yeah, the fact that you're actually sourcing local, I think that makes a big difference.

- Well, that's core to who we are.

That's what we do.

When we started, our whole goal was to be a fun local ice cream brand, to show off local ingredients.

The dairy industry here in Michigan, the local sugar from the Great Lakes Bay Region.

And we can't do that if we just go out and buy some ice cream make somewhere.

We have to make our own ice cream mix.

So we get dairy from Prairie Farms in Battle Creek.

Sometimes we get it from Grand Rapids, from Dairy Homes in America.

We get milk from MMPA, Michigan Milk Producer Association, right?

We get our milk powder from the Ovid plant.

So it's all locally sourced, down to even like the mix-ins are locally sourced.

- Well, everything about this place is fun.

You're fun.

The shop is fun, and when we went in the back and when you're showing us the process and what you do, I can tell you're so passionate about it.

I have to ask you though, who names the flavors?

I love uptown funk, strawberry fields forever.

Yeah, I mean, who does that?

- So my style is great with coming up with ice cream names or our guests as well suggesting names.

I'm better at making an ice cream.

- [Tom] Show me the dough.

- Show mt the dough.

That's a great one.

- So we work chopped that one for quite a while.

A lot of our inspiration does come from our guests and our staff have a go.

We have a new pretzel flavor.

We had a make your flavor contest and on our first, like we were open, everybody suggested a flavor and we put the best ones up for a vote and the pretzel chocolate caramel won.

So that's the flavor we have in the case.

- What's the next step?

I mean, am I gonna be able to buy the ice cream in the market?

- So that's a good question, right?

So this is our second location.

We're happy to just have these two locations this year.

We're never gonna be and our goal is not to be the next Ben & Jerry's.

- Right.

- Right.

We want to be a regional ice cream brand with local ingredients.

Right now, we're licensed as a food service establishment, right?

So I'm not gonna be selling it to other businesses right now.

In the future, we could look at getting licensed as an actual dairy plant, which this new facility would allow us to do.

And then I think our production space can supply probably up to four stores, so- - Yeah, I admire that attitude.

It's better to be smaller and do it right and service your community.

Like we were originally gonna be under the radar universe, but we decided that Michigan was (indistinct).

- Space travel was out.

- Yes, but yeah.

Well, yeah.

It upsets my stomach, so...

Whether it's the Saginaw facility where the flavors are born or the Bay City shop or locals line up to taste summer in a cone.

This is the kind of ice cream story we love to tell and eat.

Bonus.

- [Jim] And with their new facility helping to meet growing demand, Michigan Cream & Sugar is proof that good ideas and good flavors rise to the top.

- [Tom] From buttery pastries and booming popcorn to collectible toys and creamy cones.

The Great Lakes Bay Region has it all and then some.

(doors thudding) - Well, that's a wrap on snacks, stories and some seriously cool people.

- And that's a wrap for us too.

So until next time, keep exploring the cool people, places, and things that make Michigan so magnificent.

Ready, together?

- Yep.

- See you on the next- - See you on the next- - Under the Radar.

- Under the Radar.

- Hey, that went pretty good.

- That's so good.

- I know, I'm surprised.

(upbeat music) (fans cheering) (water splashing) - [Presenter] The Stahls, motors and music experience features a collection of automated music machines, neon signs, gas pumps, and 150 years of automotive history.

More info at stahlsauto.com.

(rock music) (gentle music)