Simon Hubig Co.

The Simon Hubig Co. was a bakery and distributor of hand-held "honey fruit pies" which operated in Birmingham from 1922 to 1932. The company was founded in Fort Worth, Texas in 1917 and quickly spread to Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta, and Memphis.

In Birmingham, the Simon Hubig Co. opened their bakery at 510 26th Street North, across from the Birmingham Terminal Station. The company also acquired a fleet of seven delivery trucks for distribution to retailers. Hubig's drivers installed screened pie case displays on the countertops of dealers, who purchased the pies outright and sold them at a 25 percent profit. Unlike other commercial bakers, Hubig did not collect unsold product, claiming that his pies retained their freshness longer than others.

The business failed during the Great Depression, surviving only in New Orleans, where its individually-wrapped pies became a cultural phenomenon. The company's production facility on Dauphine Street was destroyed by fire in 2012 and has not yet been rebuilt.

References

• "New Orleans Pie Baker Sells 20,000 Pies Daily" (July 13, 1922) Printers' Ink Vol. 120, No. 2, p. 90