One by one, the pie lovers walked up to this Blossom Hill Road front door, saw that the restaurant was dark and had closed early that evening, then stared at the posted note: “Thank you for 48 years of business.”
The last Marie Callender’s in San Jose is shutting down for good Monday afternoon.
“Oh, I’m so sad,” said an incredulous Debra Rivera, who stopped by to purchase a pie for a friend.
Franchise owner Ron Garald — a Bay Area restaurateur who at the age of 17 was the first general manager of this location in 1974 — said he “tried like heck” to keep it open, but the pandemic economy made it impossible.
“My lease was coming up and with COVID, my sales dropped drastically,” he said. “I just couldn’t afford the rent any more.”
The restaurant kitchen has already closed, but the bakers are still at it, so a limited selection of pies will be sold — and at good prices, for as any Marie’s fan knows, February is always pie sale month.
But after the last Razzleberry and Chocolate Cream pies exit the building, the Bay Area will be left with just one Marie Callender’s, in Sunnyvale. The only other Northern California locations are in Modesto and Sacramento.
Marie Callender — yes, she was a real person — started her home-based bakery in the 1940s in Southern California with husband Cal, then launched a wholesale business. Son Don Callender saw the retail potential, opening the first coffee and pie shop in 1964 in the city of Orange. Over the past two decades, the chain has gone through a succession of corporate owners and a Chapter 11 reorganization. At its height, the pie dynasty had 156 restaurants; there are now 27 locations, primarily in Southern California, according to the company’s director of operations, John Bowler.
A steady stream of customers has been lining up at the Blossom Hill front counter in these final days.
“I got pie! I’m happy,” said San Jose resident Mary Jo Berry, who came with her family. “They didn’t have my favorite, Rhubarb, but that’s OK.”
And five members of the Harris clan trooped in, thinking they each could order a slice of their favorite. But only full pies are being sold. “So we had to vote under pressure,” Leah Harris said. “We got Apple and Pumpkin. Classics.”
Others spent time sharing their memories.
This location has been a landmark for fans Hans Rechenmacher and his wife, Kathy; she used to work at the Marie Callender’s on Meridian Avenue and before that, Bumbleberry Pies at the Pruneyard. Over the years, they became accustomed to telling people to “turn at Marie Callender’s” to get to their home just down the street. The parents of nine, their trips to Marie’s for years meant purchasing three or four pies.
On this evening, Hans said, “My wife sends me with 20 pie tins (to trade in). I say, ‘Kathy, they’re closing. They don’t want the tins.’ ”
As for Rivera, she reminisced not only about the pies but also about the lunches of Grilled Ham Stack sandwiches that she and her mother would enjoy at the various Marie’s locations in the San Jose area. “I’m sorry to see it go.”
Both Bowler and Garald offered a sliver of hope to wistful customers.
Garald, who has managed and/or owned Marie’s restaurants in the South Bay for the past five decades, said the Blossom Hill restaurant, at about 8,000 square feet, was simply way too large. “If I can find a 1,000- to 2,000-square-foot site, then I will reopen as a pie and bakery location.”
Indeed, that’s the corporate thinking also.
“We have plans to open new Marie Callender’s as smaller units,” Bowler said.
Until then, he added: “We hope to see some of those guests at Marie Callender’s Sunnyvale.”
Details: Sunday’s hours at 620 Blossom Hill Road in San Jose will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an earlier closing time if the pies sell out. On Monday, the hours will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or earlier. For current Sunnyvale, Modesto and Sacramento menus and hours, check www.mariecallenders.com.
