Georgie Pie

Georgie Pie was a New Zealand fast-food chain specialising in large savoury pies. It was developed by Tom Ah Chee, the entrepreneur associated with Foodtown, after an unsuccessful attempt to secure the New Zealand rights to operate McDonald's. The first Georgie Pie restaurant opened in Kelston, Auckland, in 1977. The concept positioned locally made pies as a distinctly New Zealand alternative to the burgers, pizzas and other products sold by expanding international chains such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Burger King. The chain offered traditional New Zealand-style fillings, including mince and cheese and steak and kidney, alongside more internationally themed recipes such as Chinese, Mexican and Italian variants. Its menu also included breakfast and other fast-food offerings. Georgie Pie sought to combine the convenience and value orientation of quick-service restaurants with an automated baking process. This production model reduced some of the labour associated with preparing burgers, but pies required substantially longer cooking times: approximately 22 minutes compared with the few minutes needed for many conventional fast-food items. That operational constraint made production timing and demand forecasting important challenges. Georgie Pie became particularly visible in the early 1990s through its low-cost $1, $2, $3 and $4 “Funtastic Value” menu. At its peak it had 32 restaurants and employed approximately 1,300 people. The business also claimed several New Zealand fast-food firsts, including the country’s first drive-through, first breakfast service, and first 24-hour drive-through. In 1994, Progressive announced an ambitious expansion plan involving up to 25 new outlets a year and a target of 114 restaurants by the end of 1998. The planned expansion did not proceed. Financial difficulties and a decision not to continue expanding led to the sale of the chain to McDonald's in 1996. McDonald's was primarily interested in Georgie Pie's real estate and strategically located restaurant sites, including prominent Auckland properties. Seventeen of the 32 outlets were converted into McDonald's restaurants, while the remaining properties were sold or repurposed. The final dedicated Georgie Pie restaurant, in Mission Bay, closed in 1998. Although the chain disappeared as a standalone business, its products retained strong nostalgic appeal. Foodtown pies with a similar taste were later withdrawn, and former customers repeatedly called for the brand's revival. A grassroots revival movement developed during the 2000s. A Facebook group and the documentary project “Bring Back the Georgie” helped demonstrate continuing demand. A temporary Christchurch bakery event in 2008 sold out its recreated pies in under an hour, attracting customers from outside the city. McDonald's also intervened over merchandise and business names that raised intellectual-property concerns, while periodically considering whether to bring the brand back within its existing restaurant network. On 9 May 2013, McDonald's New Zealand announced a trial relaunch. From June, an amended version of the original Steak Mince 'n' Cheese recipe was sold at selected Auckland restaurants, including Queen Street and Greenlane. The product became highly popular, producing long queues and requiring crowd-management measures. The trial expanded to additional Auckland, Hamilton, Waikato and lower North Island restaurants. In October 2013, McDonald's announced that the test had exceeded expectations and planned to offer Georgie Pie at 107 of its 161 New Zealand restaurants by the end of that year. A Chicken 'n' Vegetable variant returned in March 2014. The revival was ultimately temporary. In June 2020, McDonald's announced that Georgie Pie would be discontinued within weeks because demand was insufficient and the specialist oven equipment required significant reinvestment. The product's withdrawal prompted renewed nostalgia and unusually high resale activity for remaining f…

Georgie Pie emerged from New Zealand's developing supermarket and fast-food sector. Its founder, Tom Ah Chee, had opened Foodtown Ōtāhuhu in 1958, widely associated with the introduction of New Zealand's first supermarket. After failing to obtain the local rights for McDonald's, Ah Chee pursued a homegrown fast-food concept centred on meat pies. The first Georgie Pie restaurant opened in Kelston, Auckland, in 1977. The brand's central proposition was straightforward: a familiar New Zealand food could be produced and sold with the speed, convenience and value cues of modern quick-service restaurants. Georgie Pie's large baked pies came in traditional flavours such as mince and cheese and steak and kidney, while Chinese, Mexican and Italian recipes broadened the menu. The chain also developed breakfast service and drive-through formats. It was unusually automated for its time, although the approximately 22-minute baking cycle made throughput more difficult than for burger chains. During the early 1990s Georgie Pie gained national visibility through its low-priced Funtastic Value menu, built around $1, $2, $3 and $4 offerings. The chain reached a peak of 32 restaurants and employed about 1,300 people. In 1994, Progressive Enterprises announced plans for rapid expansion, with a stated ambition of opening 25 outlets annually and reaching 114 restaurants by the end of 1998. The plan was abandoned as the business encountered financial difficulties and Progressive decided not to continue expanding the chain. Progressive sold Georgie Pie to McDonald's in 1996. The purchase was principally motivated by the value of the chain's restaurant properties and locations rather than by a commitment to maintain Georgie Pie as a standalone operation. Seventeen restaurants were converted into McDonald's outlets, while the other sites were sold or reused by other businesses. The last dedicated restaurant, at Kepa Road in Mission Bay, closed in 1998. The closure ended the original 21-year operating history of the chain. The brand remained prominent in New Zealand popular memory. A Foodtown house-brand pie with a similar taste was later removed from sale, while former customers continued to request the return of Georgie Pie. In 2008, broadcasting students Drig Chappells and Gareth Thorne organised the “Bring Back the Georgie” documentary project. A Christchurch bakery was temporarily transformed into a Georgie Pie-style operation, and the recreated pies sold out rapidly. Separate revival activity included merchandise and a Kelston shop using the name GP Pies; McDonald's raised intellectual-property concerns in relation to some of these activities. McDonald's periodically examined a possible revival between 2009 and 2012. The eventual return came in 2013, not through new standalone restaurants but through selected McDonald's locations. The initial Steak Mince 'n' Cheese trial began in Auckland in June and quickly generated queues extending outside restaurants. The test expanded to more locations, and McDonald's announced in October that it would make the product available in most of its New Zealand restaurants. The Chicken 'n' Vegetable pie was added in 2014. The second life of the brand lasted until 2020. McDonald's cited inadequate demand and the cost of replacing dedicated pie ovens when it announced the product's withdrawal. Subsequent auctions of leftover products showed that the brand retained considerable sentimental and collector value. Georgie Pie's history consequently spans three phases: a pioneering domestic fast-food chain, a property-led acquisition and closure, and a limited revival inside McDonald's restaurants.

1. 2020Revived product discontinued

   McDonald's withdraws Georgie Pie from its menu.

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2. 2013Brand returns through McDonald's

   McDonald's begins a Georgie Pie trial and later commits to broad New Zealand distribution.

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3. 2008Bring Back the Georgie revival event

   A Christchurch documentary project recreates the brand's pies and sells out quickly.

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4. 1998Last standalone restaurant closes

   The Mission Bay restaurant becomes the final dedicated Georgie Pie outlet to cease operations.

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5. 1996McDonald's acquires the chain

   McDonald's buys Georgie Pie, primarily for its restaurant sites and property portfolio.

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6. 1994Rapid expansion plan announced

   Progressive Enterprises announces plans for 25 new outlets per year and a target of 114 restaurants by the end of 1998.

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7. 1977First Georgie Pie restaurant opens

   The first Georgie Pie outlet opens in Kelston, Auckland.

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A value-oriented, distinctly New Zealand quick-service brand built around baked savoury pies and positioned as a homegrown alternative to multinational fast-food chains.

• Mince and cheese pieSavoury meat pie

  A traditional New Zealand-style filling combining seasoned minced meat and cheese in Georgie Pie's large baked-pie format. It represented the brand's locally familiar core proposition.

• Steak and kidney pieSavoury meat pie

  A traditional steak-and-kidney filling offered as part of the original chain's range of large savoury pies.

• Steak Mince 'n' Cheese pieSavoury meat pie2013

  The signature product selected for McDonald's 2013 revival trial. It was based on the original recipe but was sold without monosodium glutamate.

• Chicken 'n' Vegetable pieSavoury meat pie2014

  A chicken and vegetable variant added to the McDonald's version of Georgie Pie in 2014 as part of the brand's revived menu.

• International pie rangeSavoury meat pie

  The original chain broadened its assortment beyond traditional fillings with Chinese, Mexican and Italian-inspired recipes.

• 2013McDonald's Georgie Pie trial

  New Zealand

  McDonald's reintroduced Georgie Pie through selected restaurants, using the Steak Mince 'n' Cheese product as the initial trial offering.

  Outcome. Strong demand led to expansion from a small Auckland test to more than 100 McDonald's restaurants nationwide.

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• 2008Bring Back the Georgie

  New Zealand

  A grassroots documentary and social-media campaign sought the return of Georgie Pie. Organisers recreated the restaurant experience in a Christchurch bakery and sold pies based on the original recipe.

  Outcome. The event sold out rapidly and helped demonstrate sustained public demand, contributing to renewed discussion of a McDonald's relaunch.

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• 2020Discontinuation of Georgie PieStrategy

  McDonald's said demand had weakened and that replacing the specialist pie ovens would require significant reinvestment.

  What changed. The company removed Georgie Pie from its New Zealand menu within weeks of the announcement.

  Aftermath. The product became a discontinued nostalgic item, with remaining pies attracting unusually high resale interest.

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• 2013Trial relaunch inside McDonald's restaurantsProduct launch

  Persistent customer requests and revival activity led McDonald's New Zealand to investigate bringing back the discontinued brand.

  What changed. McDonald's launched a trial of the Steak Mince 'n' Cheese pie at selected Auckland restaurants and progressively widened distribution.

  Aftermath. The trial exceeded expectations, generated exceptionally long queues and was expanded to most eligible McDonald's restaurants in New Zealand.

  McDonald's New Zealand sales growth. 5.8% gain (2013)

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• 1996Sale to McDonald'sM&A

  Progressive Enterprises had encountered financial difficulties and had decided not to continue the chain's planned expansion.

  What changed. Progressive sold Georgie Pie to McDonald's, which was chiefly interested in the restaurant properties and strategic sites.

  Aftermath. Seventeen outlets became McDonald's restaurants, other sites were sold or repurposed, and the final standalone Georgie Pie closed in 1998.

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• 2024Frozen Georgie Pie reportedly sells for $45

  Stuff reported that a single frozen Georgie Pie dating from 2020 sold on Trade Me for $45, illustrating the brand's continuing nostalgic appeal.

  Other
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• 2020McDonald's retires Georgie Pie

  McDonald's announced that Georgie Pie would be discontinued because of limited demand and the need for substantial investment to replace specialist oven equipment.

  Product generation
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• 2020Remaining Georgie Pie products attract collector bids

  A purported final box of Georgie Pies was auctioned on Trade Me and attracted bids substantially above the normal retail price.

  Other
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• 2014Chicken 'n' Vegetable pie returns

  McDonald's added the Chicken 'n' Vegetable variant to the revived Georgie Pie menu.

  Product launch
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• 2013McDonald's announces Georgie Pie trial relaunch

  McDonald's New Zealand announced that Georgie Pie would return on a trial basis through selected McDonald's restaurants, initially with the Steak Mince 'n' Cheese pie.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2013Georgie Pie trial expands nationwide

  After strong customer demand, McDonald's said the revived product would expand to 107 of its 161 New Zealand restaurants by the end of the year.

  Product launch
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1. Georgie Pie
2. Stuff.co.nz