Ten years ago KO Pies Chef and Owner Sam Jackson took a gamble and decided to bring a staple of Australian comfort food to Eastie’s shores.
Inside the brick building within the industrial setting of the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina on Marginal Street, Jackson’s KO Pies opened in 2010, and as word began to spread like an unchecked wildfire in the Outback about his savory Australian meat pies.
“Bringing meat pies to Boston and New England for the first time wasn’t lost on us,” said Jackson this week. “It was a big deal. We were essentially representing one of, if not THE most beloved, quintessential comfort foods of the homeland. Everyone has a bloody opinion on a pie in Australia.”
This week Jackson and KO Pies staff celebrated 10 years in the community by not only serving up delicious Aussie fare but also giving back to the community by supporting schools and a whole host of local organizations.
“We knew that in order to succeed, we had to not only have the Aussie approval but most importantly, if we were to survive, we needed to have the local American crowd get it,” said Jackson. “There’re only so many Aussie , Kiwi, South African, British and Irish pie lovers after all.”
A decade and two KO Pies later (the Southie location closed a few years back) has served over 800,000 pies to the masses.
“To all the staff that have become de facto Aussies over those years, the hours logged, the attention to detail on a new concept to Boston, the belief that we always have to be consistent each and every bloody day, thank you,” said Jackson. .To all the vendors and landlords, thank you. To the customers who have made 10 years possible. To return, weekly, monthly, yearly, we are grateful. Even during a pandemic, when we made the decision to stick with the take-out only option. Whether it be for a snack, your weekly meal, a first date, wedding, birthday, office catering or just because you wanted to give us a go, thank you.”
Jackson said one thing any successful food establishment owner will likely agree on is in order to make a restaurant work, you need to have your own ‘thing’.
“You need the next new customer to understand exactly what it is that you are offering,” he said. “You don’t set out to please everyone. That is impossible, and over 10 years I’ve learned that’s certainly the case. And that’s ok. As long as there’s enough people who get it, then you’ve done something pretty cool. It worked. So with that in mind, it’s safe to say here we are 10 years later. We’ve done our job. Cheers to every bloody one of you. It’s going to be one hell of a week and we hope to get to say it in-person with as many of you that swing by the shipyard.” It’s safe to say all of KO Pies’s customers and fans are hoping for another 10 years of Aussie goodness and the chance to crack a cold one and celebrate with Jackson once the pandemic ends