A one-pot method for the preparation of furo[3,4-b]pyridine-5(7H)-ones from commercially available 2-bromopyridine-3-carboxylic acid has been developed. Thus, this acid is treated with two molar amounts of butyllithium to generate lithium 2-lithiopyridine-3-carboxylate, which is then allowed to react with carbonyl compounds to afford, after treatment with hydrochloric acid, the desired furopyridinones in reasonable yields.