Marie Callender's is an American

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

. Its headquarters are in the Marie Callender's Corporate Support Center in

Mission Viejo Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

, Orange County, California. As of May 2022, the company has 25 restaurant locations in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

History

First foundation

In the 1930s, Marie Callender and her husband Cal Warren Callender began selling pies in the city of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. In 1948, they sold their family car and used the money to set up a wholesale bakery with their son

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

. The first official location was opened in 1964. Eventually, Don opened a retail outlet in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

, naming it after his mother, gradually adding other food. Within five years the chain was expanded to 12 more locations and opened its first locations outside of California (Las Vegas and Houston) in 1969. It grew into 84 locations by the end of the 1970s. However, the Houston location closed down in 1981. In 1997, the company announced that they planned to open three new restaurants in the Houston area once again. Not just Houston but more locations in other cities as well. At the end, all three remaining locations in Houston closed down in 2001 due to restaurants being unprofitable.

Late 20th century sales

In 1986, the restaurant chain was sold to

Ramada Inn Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from t ...

, then in 1990, to Wilshire Restaurant Group, Inc. Marie Callender Pie Shops, Inc. was purchased from Saunders Karp & Megrue (SKM) in 1999 by an affiliate of Castle Harlan, a New York-based

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

firm. The company owned the

East Side Mario's East Side Mario's is a Canadian chain of casual dining restaurants, managed by its parent holding company Recipe Unlimited. The restaurant specializes in Italian-American cuisine. Individual locations aim to recreate the historic ambience found at ...

restaurant chain from 1997 (when it bought the chain from

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

) to 2000.

PMCI

In 2006, Castle Harlan merged Marie Callender's with another of its interests,

Perkins Restaurant and Bakery Perkins LLC (also known as Perkins Restaurant & Bakery on the locations' signage) is an American casual dining restaurant chain that serves breakfast and other homestyle meals throughout the day in addition to bakery items such as pies, muffins an ...

. The combined chain, known as Perkins & Marie Callender's Inc. (PMCI), was headquartered in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. The business flourished until Don Callender died on January 7, 2009, due to complications resulting from head trauma sustained during a fall at home. On June 13, 2011, a total of 58 units were closed, including 31 Marie Callender's and 27

s due to bankruptcy restructuring (

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

). During bankruptcy, PCMI sold the Marie Callender's brand to ConAgra for US$57.5 million. Later that year, PMCI exited bankruptcy under the control of Wayzata Investment Partners.

Marie Callender's Inc.

On August 5, 2019, 29 stores were closed and the holding company for Perkins and Marie Callender's filed bankruptcy. The chains were later split apart, with Perkins being bought by

Huddle House Huddle House, Inc. is an American casual dining franchisor. There are 339 units in 23 different states, with a concentration in the southeast United States. History The chain was started in April 1964 in Decatur, Georgia by John Sparks, with the ...

, while Marie Callender's was sold to Elite Restaurant Group, which formed a new company known as Marie Callender's Inc. to operate the chain, for US$1.75 million.

Business

Restaurants

In later years, a typical restaurant would have a fully stocked

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, or saloon, serving

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

s. This is in contrast to family restaurants like

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...

Village Inn Village Inn is a casual-dining restaurant chain in the United States. Its restaurants are known for their breakfast menu items. Also, they feature a variety of salads, sandwiches, burgers, melts, and dinner items. Their pies have won numerous a ...

, which generally do not serve alcoholic beverages. A

salad bar A salad bar is a buffet-style table or counter at a restaurant or food market on which salad components are provided for customers to assemble their own salad plates. Most salad bars provide lettuce, chopped tomatoes, assorted raw, sliced vegeta ...

is also a staple. The type of cuisine served is mainly

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, although many of the dishes are slanted towards styles of preparation that resemble

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, French,

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

, or

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. Soups and sandwiches are available as meals or ''à la carte''. Pies are signature items on the dessert menu: there are over 30 varieties available. The interiors of the chain's earlier restaurants are decorated with antiques circa 1900, providing a theme that is reminiscent of Victorian

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as well as early United States. Later restaurants reflect more modern tastes, with a clean interior and photos of food.

Frozen foods

For years the chain has licensed its name for shelf-stable and frozen entrees and sides. Various product licenses were included in a sale to

ConAgra Foods Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

in 1994 for $140 million. The name ''Marie Callender's'' was retained for the food line following the division's sale. In 2010, its cheesy chicken & rice meal was pulled due to a

salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...

outbreak.

Don Callender

Donald W. Callender (September 27, 1927 – January 7, 2009) was an American

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

and co-founder of the Marie Callender's chain of restaurants, which originated in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. He was also the creator of Babe's Slim Pign's in Redlands, P.H. Woods in

Moreno Valley Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's po ...

, Top-Gun Restaurant Grill, and Babe's Bar-B-Que & Brewery in

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and locate ...

. Callender is credited as being among the first restaurateurs to offer

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

operations, with the first Marie Callender's franchisee opening in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

in 1964.

Early life

In the 1930s, Marie Callender (1907–1995), her husband Cal Warren Callender, and their only child, Don lived in a

trailer park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and eas ...

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

. Marie baked and sold pies to augment the family's income, with Don delivering her pies to customers on his bicycle. A 1945 graduate of

Long Beach Poly High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, he joined the Merchant Marine for a brief tour at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and then returned home to southern California.

Retail

By 1948, twenty-one year old Don was working to expand the business by selling pies to restaurants in

and

. In 1951, he purchased a home on Gondar Ave. in the Plaza area of Long Beach, where the Callender family did their baking before shifting the expanding operation to a Quonset hut on Anaheim St. in Long Beach. Eventually, Don ventured into the retail realm, opening his first outlet in Orange (at 574 N. Tustin St.) and naming it after his mother, Marie. With continued experimentation, he gradually expanded his inventory and added other menu items which would later become Marie Callender fare.

Company sale and other businesses

By the time Don Callender had sold the company in 1986 to Ramada for a reported $80 million, the chain had grown to 120 locations nationwide. Following the sale, Don remained in the restaurant industry, planning to start a second 21,000 square foot (1950 square meter) Babe's in

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, Califo ...

. Unfortunately, health issues forced Callender out of the project before seeing the project come to full fruition. The building was subsequently leased to Kaiser Restaurant Group, a local restaurant management consortium. Jackelope Ranch opened the day after Don passed, as a

Southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

-themed barbecue.

Death

Callender died at age 81 in 2009 at

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Hoag is a not-for-profit regional health care delivery network in Orange County, California, that treats nearly 30,000 inpatients and 350,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals, seven health centers and four urgent car ...

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

, due to complications resulting from head trauma sustained during a fall at his home over a year earlier.Marie Callender's founder, Don Callender, dies
/ref> He was survived by his second wife of 31 years, Katy Callender and youngest son Lucky (Donald) Callender, in addition to his adult children from his first marriage to Patricia: second daughter Cathe Callender, son-in-law Greg Sprunk; eldest son Glen Warren, daughter-in-law Coral Callender; son-in-law Stephen Winters; and grandchildren, Harmony Callender, Jasmine Winters, Maxx Buchanan, Caitlyn and Cameron Sprunk.

References

External links

*
''Orange County Register'' obituary for Don Callender
{{ConAgra 1948 establishments in California 1986 mergers and acquisitions 1990 mergers and acquisitions 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2006 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Long Beach, California Companies based in Orange County, California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 Conagra Brands brands Economy of the Western United States Frozen food brands Mission Viejo, California Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1948 Restaurants in Orange County, California American companies established in 1948