Forget the return of the kakapo from near-extinction, Stacey Jones's rugby league resurrection or the apparition of Sir Roger Douglas in Parliament.One of the great New Zealand comebacks could be on the cards for budget fast-food chain Georgie Pie.
Riding a wave of public nostalgia, the chain best known for its $1 pie deals is being talked up by its new owners more than a decade after it sank.
Kate Porter, a spokeswoman for fast-food chain McDonald's, said it held the Georgie Pie trademark and was looking at how the company might use it.
McDonald's was "intrigued at the level of passion for the Georgie Pie brand and [we've] put some concepts into research", she said.
The move follows several campaigns urging the revival of the chain.
North Shore baker Martin Gummer has offered to pay a licensing fee and royalties to McDonald's for permission to make the pies.
Broadcasting school students in Christchurch mounted a campaign last year, opening a temporary Georgie Pie shop and shooting a documentary about it.
A Facebook group campaigning to bring back Georgie Pie has about 20,000 members.
Phil Callaghan, 27, owner of Wellington shop Verboom, started making "Bring Back Georgie Pie" merchandise about two years ago. He said the response had been explosive, with thousands of badges sold and some customers bringing in their own memorabilia including a full uniform.
"They always sell well at festivals, where everyone's all about the pie ... every person seems to have a good memory of Georgie Pie."
The recession could boost hopes of a comeback. In the early 1990s, the restaurant sold mince and cheese pies for as little as $1 each about $1.50 in today's terms.
Ms Porter said research was looking at "how much of the love for Georgie Pie was linked to the fact that it was really cheap".
Georgie Pie first opened in 1977, the brainchild of Tom Ah Chee who also opened New Zealand's first supermarket in Otahuhu in 1958.
It grew rapidly and 1300 people lost their jobs when more than 30 outlets were closed in 1996.
- By HANK SCHOUTEN and TOM FITZSIMONS, The Dominion Post (stuff.co.nz)
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1 comment:
One error in this article for correction. The last Georgie Pie (Kepa Road) actually closed in early 1999. I locked up the Hamilton West restaurant for the last time on the 8th December 1998. We were one of the last to close, but definitely not the last. A sad day for New Zealand. Boo hoo I wanna mince and cheese pie now!!
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