Ilda Jacobs, Washington DC | Monday
THE only South African pie shop in America is up for sale to anyone who likes to network and wants to keep a finger on the pulse of South African gossip in the US.
Hal Hofmeyr, 70, and his wife, Deirdre, opened “Meal-In-A-Pie” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1996 to offer home-baked pies as an alternative to the all-American hamburger.
Filled with beef, bobotie, chicken, turkey, ham and cheese, the hearty “eat-on-the-go” pies have seduced the Americans.
The vegetarian pies, filled with vegetable curry or spinach and feta and even eggplant, are especially popular, says Deirdre.
South Africans who prefer the steak and kidney option are also delighted to find they could get nostalgic favourites, like South African chutney and biltong.
The Hofmeyrs fed on exotic foods from Europe to Asia, the Middle East to South America before they settled down in Fort Lauderdale, where Hal built a 133-foot aluminum ‘super yacht’ that was considered to be the biggest in the world in its category.
He was too old to get a job, but his entrepreneurial spirit and special pie recipe paid off.
Frozen pies are delivered overnight all over the US and Hal wanted to open outlets in mall food courts across the country, but ill-health has dashed his dream.
The pie shop is being advertised in a newsletter for South Africans, and is selling for a deposit of US$15_ 000 – payable in Rands. – African Eye News Service