The Little-Known Origin Story Of Marie Callender's Pies

When you think of the best brand of frozen pies, you should think of Marie Callender's. It's the most iconic sweet and savory pie purveyor that you can find in grocery stores and heat up for a homemade-like taste. Marie Callender's first restaurant opened as a pie shop in 1964 and, over the years, the business grew into a chain with over 100 locations. While there are only 23 locations left currently, many Americans (especially in Southern California, where the brand started) have memories of family meals at the restaurant, and those memories live on with Marie Callender's meals in supermarket freezer aisles. The brand and its pies have been a part of so many Americans' lives for generations, but its origin story is far less familiar, and it's as rich in family warmth as Marie Callender meals.

In the 1940s, Callender was hired by a Long Beach, California snack shop to make pies, which she made from home because she had a better oven. The snack shop owner encouraged her to grow that operation, and she began making enough pies to sell to other local eateries. Her mother and husband both helped with the baking, and her son Don would deliver them on his bike. She was producing 100 pies per day and realized that she could build and expand an entire business by 1948. Then, in 1964, the family was ready to open a restaurant and get Callender's pies into stores.

Considering what an empire Marie Callender's became by the later decades of the 20th century, it's hard to imagine that the business started with very humble beginnings. Don Callender worked two newspaper routes through high school and inherited a dedicated work ethic from his parents that helped him deliver all those pies for his mother. The family did everything themselves; when they decided to take that full-time leap with the business in 1948, they had to sell their only car to invest in a tiny production space and supplies. At their first eatery, pies cost just $0.95, and first-time customers got free slices and coffee. Luckily, the pies spoke for themselves and the Marie Callender's brand garnered a devoted following. By 1970, there were 26 restaurant locations. Between those and the frozen pies, the company has been worth hundreds of millions of dollars at different points in its history.

It helps that the quality of Marie Callender's pies has remained the same. When we ranked frozen dessert pie brands, Marie Callender's won with the brand's Dutch Apple Pie. And when we tested Marie Callender's pies against Sara Lee, arguably the other best-known pie brand, the former won. With decades of history under its belt, there's likely some nostalgia driving Marie Callender's pie purchases, but even so, the brand has sustained its reliably delicious, classic comfort-food reputation with options like Chocolate Satin Pie, Banana Cream Pie, and Razzleberry Fruit Pie.