Pie Annuities for People who Have Everything
by Susan Davis on 11/26/09 at 10:51 am
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You can get this baby forever
There are a number of sayings that revolve around pie, one of the most beloved of all desserts. “As American as Mom, baseball and apple pie.” Pie has been a favorite dessert for decades, and now a Texas restaurant is capitalizing on their signature dish and offering pie-lovers an opportunity of a lifetime … literally. More about that, later.
In the meantime, meet Bud Royer, also known as the “Pieman,” who operates Royer’s Round Top Café in Round Top, Texas. With a population of approximately 77 (give or take one or two), Round Top is about 225 miles from Dallas, 125 miles from San Antonio, and about an hour’s drive from both Austin and Houston (if you’re driving fast, with the pedal to the metal). Without any culinary training or kitchen experience, Royer and his wife Karen took over the tiny, 40-seat café in 1987 and through good food and word-of-mouth marketing, turned the eatery into one of Texas’ most famous road stop restaurants. Royer describes it on the restaurant’s web site as a “Texas country bistro serving gourmet comfort food.”
Pies put them on the map
Their menu has an impressive list of entrees, including a grilled shrimp BLT on jalapeno sourdough bread and grilled pork tenderloin with a peach n’ pepper glaze – two popular favorites. The also have grilled rack of lamb, shrimp-stuffed grilled quail and more than 60 wines (they have more wines on their menu than seats in the restaurant). But what makes them famous are their pies – pies that they ship all over the state of Texas and to the rest of the country.
Royer’s has about a dozen or so pies on their menu. Some are seasonal and some just “show up.” Although they have the traditional apple, blueberry, peach, strawberry rhubarb and cherry pies, their popular sellers which get shipped all over are Bud’s chocolate chip pie, buttermilk deluxe pie, butterscotch chip and pecan. And these are the pies that Royer is marketing through an innovative “lifetime annuity” program. He’s starting a Pie-for-Life plan. Every month, for the rest of your life, you can get one of Royer’s pies delivered directly to your door. Forever. For as long as they live. Even if they live to be 100 or more.
What’s the catch?
How can that be? Well, of course, there’s a catch, and the catch is the cost. It’s expensive. And the younger you are, the more expensive it is, because after all, they’ll have to send you more pies for a longer period of time.
How expensive is expensive?
The figures are calculated based on actuarial tables. A 50-year old living in Texas would have to plunk down $12,091 to get a pie delivered each month for the rest of his or her life. If that person lived out of state, the cost goes up to $13,905. A 30-year old would pay $23,498 and $27,022 (for out of state shipping) respectively. A 65-year old would only have to invest $4,495 to enroll, $5,168 if he or she lived out of state. A real bargain.
Of course, if you met with an early demise after enrolling in the pie annuity, Royer gets to keep your membership fee. It is not transferable to a beneficiary. On the other hand, if you outlive your predicted lifespan, you come out the big winner, with the pies arriving like clockwork.
As of now, Royer has not had a large response to his new Pie-for-Life program, but the holiday season is just around the corner and this might be the perfect gift for those “hard to buy for” folks on your list. You can bet they probably don’t have a “Pie-for-Life” annuity!
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