Marie Callender’s cooking up plan to buy restaurant chain

Bob Shemeligian

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Tomorrow is National Pie Day, and Marie Callender's is celebrating in a big way -- by attempting to purchase the entire East Side Mario's restaurant chain.

Greg Lynds, vice president of real estate development for Marie Callender's, Pie Shops, Inc., said the company, headquartered in Orange, Calif., is negotiating with Pepsi-Cola Company, owner of East Side Mario's, to purchase the restaurant chain.

"There's been a lot of misinformation," Lynds said. "We are in negotiations, and we're in the do diligence phase."

Brad Shaw, spokesman for Pepsi-Cola, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Pepsi owns several restaurant chains including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Chevy's Mexican Restaurants, and California Pizza Kitchen.

East Side Mario's includes 40 restaurants throughout Canada, where the chain was founded, and the United States. Of these, 26 are franchised and the remaining 14 are owned by the parent corporation.

There are two East Side Mario's in Southern Nevada -- on West Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas and West Sunset Road in Henderson.

Lynds said if the purchase goes through, the public won't see any significant changes.

"We think the chain represents a great growth concept. The unit sales are excellent," Lynds said. "We would keep it as East Side Mario's."

Marie Callender's was established in 1948 when the Callender family sold their new car for $700 and used the money to finance the venture.

The money paid for one month's rent of a small store in Long Beach, and a down payment on a small oven, a refrigerator, a rolling pin and a few hand tools.

With the seats removed from a 1936 Ford Sedan, fresh-baked pies were delivered daily to a few local local residents. Soon, orders were coming for 40 pies per day.

Two years later, Marie Callender, whom the chain was named after, was making approximately 200 pies per day. By 1965, she was making several thousand pies per day.

Over the years, Marie Callender's has grown to nearly 150 restaurants in 13 states, with reported 1995 sales of $264 million.