It’s just before lunchtime, and the dairy next to the Maketū Pies factory is bustling.
Some clutch paper packets containing flaky, golden pastry wrapped around a piping-hot filling.
Maketū Pies has been a fixture of the tiny coastal Bay of Plenty town since 1982 and is considered a major employer, but its future is in jeopardy again.
The business that owns the brand, Maketū Foods Ltd, was placed into voluntary solvent liquidation last week.
Residents of Maketū — population 1311 in the 2023 Census — worry the brand will be lost and dozens of pie-makers will be out of a job.
It’s not the first time the town has faced the possibility.
They hope a buyer will save the day, as happened when Te Arawa Management Ltd bought the national…
