The bakery, deli and sandwich shop always has special offerings for the holiday. In addition to their most popular pumpkin cheesecake, Millie’s Market will have homemade pies that include apple, blueberry, cherry and pumpkin.

Sweet breads are also available in a variety of flavors, including pumpkin bread with a cream cheese frosting, plus four different kinds of dinner rolls.

Ruohomaki grew up in Aurora, Wis., and got her culinary start in high school when she worked at Romagnoli’s restaurant in Iron Mountain.

After high school, Ruohomaki said she worked for some “amazing” chefs all over the country including in Louisville, Milwaukee and Phoenix, where she learned to make a wide variety of cuisines.

MILLIE'S MARKET is at 800 Vulcan St. in Iron Mountain. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

She ended up as an executive chef at a supper club in Crystal Falls. Then just after the pandemic, Ruohomaki decided to go for it and open her own place.

“Since I was young, I always wanted to own my own little pasty and sandwich shop and make things from scratch,” Ruohomaki said. “Now I have Millie’s Market and Millie’s Catering Company.”

First starting out in Florence, Wis., as the Chainey House Bakery, Ruohomaki made the move to Iron Mountain in 2022 and opened Millie’s Market in its current location of 800 Vulcan St.

The change allowed Ruohomaki to stay open all year long and made it easier on employees, most of whom were traveling from the Iron Mountain area.

Despite being a little off the beaten path on Vulcan Street, the move proved to be a good choice. Manager Kody Desmarais said even after two years, people still come in every week for the first time, having just heard about them through word of mouth.

With deli items and bakery items, Ruohomaki said it is hard to describe Millie’s Market in just a few words.

“You can come in and you can get a pasty, sandwich, fresh-baked bread, bakery items or one of our take-and-bake meals in the freezer section,” Ruohomaki said. “You can have a nice home-cooked meal and not have to do all of the work for.”

Ruohomaki added, “I always wanted my own little shop to make things from scratch. In the age we live in now, they do production, quantity over quality, and I like to do things as much from scratch as possible.”

Ruohomaki has enlisted her family to help in that effort, including grandmother Cheryl Ray, who comes in early to bake the bread, and brother-in-law Desmarais. Desmarais’ mother, Diane, makes the soups and bars. All told, Millie’s Market employs 10 people, including many part-time high school students holding down their first job.

Millie’s Market offers a small but varied sandwich menu, including the most-popular Cuban, which has pulled pork, smoked ham, fresh mozzarella, pickles and stone-ground mustard aioli. Sandwiches are made with fresh-baked bread and meats roasted on site.

“We put a lot of care into (our sandwiches) because we do not have such a large menu where there are a million things; the few things we do have we do really, really well,” Desmarais said.

The soups Millie’s Market serves weekly are the same ones Desmarais’ mother made when he was growing up. Loaded baked potato, cheddar broccoli, stuffed pepper and chili are often on the menu.

Millie’s Market pasties have become a favorite in the area and are made fresh daily. Desmarais said that in addition to a wonderful filling, the crust is what really makes Millie’s Market pasties great.

“Our crust recipe sets us apart from a lot of other places. It has been tweaked and mastered by Janelle herself,” Desmarais said. “She has done that with a lot of the recipes here. She changed the recipe 10 to 15 times trying to get it right — she will work at something until it is exactly what she wants.”

The bakery features many dessert favorites as well, including chocolate chip cookies, seven layer bars, turnovers and date bars.

Millie’s Market is open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Desmarais said there is still time to order Thanksgiving items by calling 906-779-8363.

Millie’s Market is also available for catering.