Gone for a decade, beloved Hubig’s pies are finally back in New Orleans

There was surprise, delight, even some incredulity. But it was true: Hubig’s Pies are back.

The first lucky New Orleans people finally got fresh Hubig’s pies into their hot little hands on Sunday morning.

There was a choice of apple and lemon and no question over the authenticity.

Hubig’s Pies owners Kathleen and Drew Ramsey set up a booth by the Hancock Whitney Bank on South Carrollton Avenue to sell pies to people walking to the nearby Oak Street Po-Boy Festival.

Some people stopped in their tracks when they spotted the Hubig’s logo of portly baker Savory Simon on signs around the bank. Others broke stride and started running toward the tables arrayed with boxes of pies.

“I was on my way to get a haircut, when I saw the sign for Hubig’s I almost drove my car off the road,” said Nick Reimann, a New Orleans resident who managed to park properly and snag some pies.

Where will Hubig’s pies be sold?

“We’re going to grow it, we’re going to get it to everybody,” Ramsey said. “If you were a Hubig’s customer, you’re going to be again.”

The flavor selection is limited for now. Hubig’s is starting with apple and lemon, two of its most popular varieties. The company’s other “staple” flavors will soon follow, including peach, pineapple, chocolate and coconut. Limited-run flavors will also return in their seasonal progression, with sweet potato, cherry, strawberry, blueberry and banana to come.

It has been a decade since a fire destroyed the original home of Hubig’s Pies, knocking the beloved treats out of circulation.

In business since 1921, the sweet hand pies became more than just a familiar convenience food in New Orleans.

The grab-and-go treats, which could be found at the grocery, hardware store or gas station, were inexpensive products that became part of New Orleans’ daily routine, and thus were ingrained in the hearts of a city that loves its rituals.

A split in the business partnership behind the pre-fire Hubig’s led to years of delay. Eventually the Ramsey family consolidated control of the company and pledged to move forward.

The return now finally answers that pledge.

“All we can say is thank you and encourage our fellow New Orleanians to support what they cherish,” Ramsey said.

How do they taste?

Hubig’s Pies has a new facility off Jefferson Highway near the Huey P. Long Bridge. Building it out entailed a long, often painstaking process of assembling new and sometimes vintage equipment.

That’s because Ramsey described his goal as not simply to build a new pie-making facility or relaunch a brand. Instead, he’s committed to building Hubig’s Pies back up to precisely what its customers remember, from the taste of the fruit fillings to the texture of the crust to the sound the wrapper makes when you open one.

On Sunday, the proof was in the pies. There was the familiar crinkle of the individual wrappers, the sugary glaze on the surface of the pies, collecting around the creases at the edge, the taste of fresh apples or bright, smooth lemon filing within. There was the sticky feeling on the fingers after eating one, and the desire, after so long going without, to immediately have another.

How much do they cost now?

The return answers other pressing questions about Hubig’s that have percolated through the years.

Hubig’s have always been an economical treat, and they remain so. Hubig’s Pies were selling for $1.19 each in 2012 before the fire made them the last remaining ones priceless.

The pies hitting the market now will be priced at $2.49, which Ramsey said reflects the increases that would be gradually accrued over the past 10 years. At the pop-up stand on Sunday, the pies were selling for $3 each.

For those who descended on the Hubig’s stand on Sunday, the reunion with a once-lost New Orleans favorite brought some visceral responses.

One was Toi Lee, who hurried from his Metairie home to get a taste. With his dog Tyga riding in a bag slung over his shoulder, he hauled away a whole box of pies.

“When I heard they were back, I just had to get down here,” Lee said. “I’ve missed them for so long.”

While local distribution begins, Hubig’s also plans to launch a new web site that will offer online ordering and shipping, “to get pies in the hands of expatriated New Orleanians,” Ramsey said. That site, hubigs.com, is expected to be active by Monday.

This story was originally published November 6, 2022 at 1:47 PM.