[6] Georgie Pie was the brainchild of Tom Ah Chee, who opened New Zealand's first supermarket (Foodtown Ōtāhuhu, 1958).

Ah Chee had made an unsuccessful bid for the New Zealand rights to McDonald's before deciding to establish his own fast food restaurant chain.

It also gave McDonald's a leg-up over arch-rival Burger King, who entered the New Zealand market in 1994 and were also actively interested in purchasing the Georgie Pie chain.

[2][10] New Zealand Broadcasting School students Drig Chappells and Gareth Thorne started a Facebook group calling for the return of Georgie Pie.

[11] In September 2008, as part of a documentary known as "Bring Back the George",[12] they temporarily converted a Christchurch bakery into the restaurant and sold pies made with the same recipe as the originals.

[13] "Bring Back Georgie Pie" badges and T-shirts were available from a Wellington-based "Kiwiana" retailer until McDonald's identified intellectual property concerns and requested that their manufacture cease.

They also announced they were looking into relaunching the Georgie Pie brand, not as a stand-alone shop, but possibly inside McDonald's outlets as a McCafé offering.

[15][16] In May 2009,[17] July 2011,[18] and April 2012,[19] media reports indicated that McDonald's New Zealand (the current trademark holder) were investigating a reopening of the brand.

[25] In September 2020, the purported "last box" of Georgie Pies was auctioned off for more than its retail price on Trade Me, attracting four-figure bids.