Hubig's Pies, also sometimes called Hubig's New Orleans Style Pies, are a brand of

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

and sweet-filled fried pies that are produced by the Simon Hubig Pie Company in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The product was off the market from 2012 after a fire completely destroyed the factory, but the business was brought back in 2022.

History

Hubigs Pies Ad New Orleans Item 24 May 1922

Simon Hubig was born in Spain's Basque Country and immigrated to the United States after serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He founded the Simon Hubig Pie Company in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

in 1922, capitalizing on baking skills he learned at his mother's bakery. In subsequent years, the company expanded to nine locations throughout the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

and opened its New Orleans location in 1922. During

the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, all of the locations were forced to close except the New Orleans bakery, which remained profitable. Throughout the life of the company, the New Orleans bakery stayed in the same Dauphine Street location in the

Faubourg Marigny The Faubourg Marigny ( ; sometimes called The Marigny) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Its boundaries, as defined by the City Planning Commission, are North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue to the ...

it was founded in.

Operations

The production process changed very little over time. Before Hurricane Katrina, in addition to the famous turnover-style pie, Hubig's also made individual and family-sized

pies A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), sweet ...

. Hubig's Pies frequently donated fresh products to charitable organizations in the area. The

Orleans Parish New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

of Hubig's Pies, and he was prominently featured on the packaging and some advertising for their pies.

Hurricane Katrina aftermath

When the city of New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the bakery's ventilation system, an exterior wall, and the roof were damaged. Production of Hubig's pies was halted and did not start again until more than four months later, January 4, 2006, after the neighborhood had clean water, reliable electricity, and sufficient gas pressure. Hubig's pies increased slightly in cost after the storm, and the variety of flavors offered changed. About 30,000 hand-sized pies were made a day to be delivered on the next day.

Fire and failed re-opening efforts

On July 27, 2012, a fire broke out at the bakery. Flames were seen coming from the front of the building at about 4:30 a.m. The fire grew to five alarms, engulfing the factory. A little more than an hour after the first firefighters arrived, the facade of the building crumbled. No one was hurt, but the facility was a total loss. Co-owner Andrew Ramsey originally said he planned to rebuild and resume production as soon as possible, and in 2013, the city approved plans by Hubig's to build a factory in a new location. The efforts eventually stalled, however, before any construction work had started. In 2014, Ramsey stated that he could not "give ..even a tentative date" for a return of Hubig's, because the company's owners were "not in concert about how to proceed". He added that while he himself would favor a re-opening, he had "no control over whether that happen d" As of summer 2015, there has been no construction work on a new factory, the company's web site is unreachable, and its official Facebook page has not been updated for more than two years. In April 2015, the New Orleans City Planning Commission approved plans to construct residential buildings on the site of the former Hubig's Pies factory.

Long promised return

On July 18, 2019, it was announced that production would resume in 2020 from a plant in Jefferson Parish. The company was expected to resume production in 2020. In November 2022, the company announced it was hiring, suggesting that a return may be in the works. They officially returned later in the month.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Hubig's Pies, New Orleans
Official Hubig's Pies Website
* ttp://neworleanspodcasting.com/AndrewRamsey.shtml An audio interview with Andrew Ramsey after Hurricane Katrina, which describes the process of making Hubig's pies.br>A personal testimonial by Andrew Ramsey on the problems facing Hubig's after Katrina.
'']. *[http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/Crews-get-Hubig-s-Pies-fire-under-control/-/9853400/15757756/-/wsskgy/-/index.html A video report by WDSU News on the fire that destroyed the Hubig's facility.] Manufacturing companies based in New Orleans American brands Food and drink companies of New Orleans