Marie Callendars

[plennis]

I heard on the news that most of the Marie Callendar restaurants are closing as they have sold out.  They are going to continue with the frozen food lines, just not the restaurants.  I enjoy their salad and soup bar, and of course their pies.  At least the pies will still be available.  We do enjoy the different chicken pot pies frozen foods, so that will still be available too.

[ngorecki]

I've never been to one of the restaurants, I do enjoy the frozen pies, pot pies etc.

[countrygirl12]

I did not know they had actual restaurants.  Hmmm.  I love the grilled chicken with mashed potatoes frozen meal.  It may have corn too not sure.  Ohhhh and the chicken pot pies.  Yummy!

[debidoo]

Shows what I know lol I have seen their frozen line at my grocery store for years but to be honest didn't even know they had restaurants.  I guess cause none were ever in our area.

[jenniferhoder]

I had no idea they had actual restaurants. I only knew they had frozen food. Interesting.

[oldbuddy]

All I know is, my wife makes much better Chicken Pot Pies for a LOT less money. That is when she can talk me out of using the chicken to make Hawaiian Haystacks, on my short list of favorites.

[aflyingmonkey]

A friend of mine's parents owned a couple of Marie Callender's restaurants here in So Cal... some were franchises.  Interesting how that would work out for the restaurants that were franchises & not company owned.

I hope they still sell the pies, I get the pies for the holidays.... I haven't actually eaten at the restaurant in over a decade, the food was always good, but there are so many other places now that cost just as much & are better.

[cathy37]

I didn't even know that Marie Callendars had restaurants.  I thought it was just frozen food.  We don't have any of their restaurants in the south.

[teresa3200]

I didn't  know there was a restaurant. I have purchased many of the frozen items though and they are really good.

[rghvac69]

Didn't know about the restaurants. I like their frozen foods.

[dsosnowski06]

Did not know that they had restaurants would have love to try it.  I do like their frozen foods but don't eat them often due to high sodium content.

[myfreebees316]

A friend of mine's parents owned a couple of Marie Callender's restaurants here in So Cal... some were franchises.  Interesting how that would work out for the restaurants that were franchises & not company owned.

I hope they still sell the pies, I get the pies for the holidays.... I haven't actually eaten at the restaurant in over a decade, the food was always good, but there are so many other places now that cost just as much & are better.

Sadly thats the downside of owning a franchise store you can actually be shut down any time and especially if the company your franchised under has financial woes. Still those places your friends parents own are still there's they just can't run as Marie Callenders anymore. They have to change the name of the business , nothing can be named the same on the menus or even made with the same recipes used. It would take time to change stuff like that but at least it be there own name and brand. The part that sucks is all that money people who have to put in just to use the franchise name of any business if they go out of bussiness or have to downscale always a chance the place you own and run will be a casualty

[seesawing]

This is indeed sad news.  Apparently in 2006, Marie Callender's combined with Perkins Restaurant & Bakery to form Perkins & Marie Callender's LLC.  This entity had already closed 29 restaurant locations, but followed with a filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection citing a decline in sales across family-dining and casual-dining industries as well as labor costs and a tight labor market to explain the poor financial performance of the last two years.

As for their frozen line, Marie Callender's is made available through conglomerate, ConAgra.

I have had a few favorites from that frozen line myself, but in a trip to Lake Tahoe in the mid-1990s I passed by a Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery and didn't have time to stop.  I've always regretted that thinking someday I may head back west and make that stop. 

[ktheodos]

I have enjoyed their foods...wasn't aware they had restaurants

[ghunter]

I did not know they had a restaurants, but I do buy their frozen foods.