NEW ORLEANS (WAFB) -
An employee said the fire started in a fryer room of the New Orleans factory that has cranked out Hubig's Pies since 1922.
On Friday, the historic building burned to the ground. The five-alarm blaze sparked around 4:30 this morning in the Marigny neighborhood. Two hours later, the building was a total loss.
You don't have to be from New Orleans to appreciate a Hubig's pie. Mike Loewer snatched up a few for his boss in Lafayette.
"When he got the news this morning that it burned down, he really wanted some before they are hard to find," said Loewer.
Whether you're coo coo for the classics, or particular to pineapple, Hubig's fans say the pies are one of a kind.
"It's a tradition in Louisiana, just as you know our Creole tradition down here and Hubig's Pies are outstanding, and you'd be surprised. you go by a little convenience store down a little countryside and you always want to grab you a pie and a coke. Awesome...fantastic," said Hubig's pie fan Douglas Maher.
Andrew Walker used to make Hubig Pies. He says the always fresh ingredients is what makes them taste so good, but there's one very important ingredient that doesn't get baked in; an owner devoted to his company and employees.
"After Katrina, the employees that were displaced, he'd call to find out where you where. He found out I was in BR and he called and said come get your check. Then he would take an envelope and put money in it and said I know you need this...you're going through a lot."
Walker admits the loss of the beautiful old ovens will probably change the pies, but the love that goes into making them will keep Hubig's Pies a New Orleans tradition.
"Hey, it'll be back someday. Not the same, but it'll be back."
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