Sunday, July 21, 2013

Return Of The George

Who ate all the pies?
Maybe it was a big boy called Brownlee (!!)...but some clown called McDonald is bringing 'em back.
McDonald's is extending its Georgie Pie trial: another six restaurants now sell the famous NZ steak mince'n'cheese pie. That's a total of 17 Maccas so far, adding the much-missed Georgie Pie to their menus.
Two more Auckland restaurants started to sell the pies this week. Four more in the Manawatu will follow suit from early August.
McDonald's NZ managing director Patrick Wilson says, since the pie's relaunch, the number of ovens have doubled to meet demand: "Sales have been far greater than projected, which tells us Kiwis are still passionate about Georgie Pie and staying true to the original recipe was worth it." 
Earlier this year, plans for a restaurant on Auckland's North Shore and an additional Hamilton restaurant were postponed when demand in other restaurants outstripped supply. The relaunch proved so popular that special queues and security staff were bought in to handle crowds. At times, the lines went out of the restaurant and stretched across the car park!
During its 21 years in business, Georgie Pie achieved a number of firsts here: first drive-through and first with breakfast; first 24-hour drive-through; and the first domestic concept to seriously challenge the international fast food giants. Many NZers have fond memories of the delicious pies, the production of which was discontinued in the late 1990s. Today, the only change to the original much-loved recipe is the removal of MSG.

No comments: