Have Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans Seen The End Of An Era?
It's such a deflating feeling each time shoppers go to the grocery store, holding out hope that their favorite summertime side dish will magically re-appear only to discover, yet again, that it hasn't. Are Grandma Brown's Baked Beans ever coming back?
Another Memorial Day has come and gone and for the second year in a row, Upstate New Yorkers were unable to serve Grandma Brown's Baked Beans to their guest and it looks like another Fourth of July will come and go without the much-loved food either.
For more than 80 years, Grandma Brown's Baked Beans were produced in an unassuming building in Mexico, New York, but the pandemic brought production to a screeching halt. In early January of this year, Sandra Brown, the granddaughter of Lulu Brown, founder of the company, told Syracuse news outlets that she was in the process of hiring employees and believed that it wouldn't be long before Grandma Brown's Baked Beans were back in production and on store shelves.
Now, there's a question of whether or not Grandma Brown's Baked Beans will ever grace the shelves of our grocery stores again.
Speaking with Syracuse.com, Brown said that she has not been able to hire the number of people she needs to get the plant back up and running. “We just don’t know how this is going to play out. If we don’t have manpower, we cannot run this plant.”
When Syracuse.com asked how many people Brown needs to resume production she said, “It changes from day to day,” and then she ended her interview with them. Take that for what you will.
People have become so heartsick for Grandma Brown's Baked Beans that they've taken to the internet to try to get their hands on a can or two and those who have had some stashed away are cashing in. This 56-ounce can was listed on eBay for $10.00 plus $9.99 shipping.
If you can't imagine another Fourth of July without serving Grandma Brown's Baked Beans, you can try this knock-off recipe. It might fool some guests, but we should warn you that die-hard Grandma Brown's Baked Beans lovers will definitely be able to tell the difference. Hopefully, they'll appreciate your attempt to bring back a big of nostalgia though.