Five years after we started out of a pie shop in Old Albany Village, we are going back. One day only, 25 July, a $10 burger pie and a $10 burger at Pioneer Pies on the North Shore.
Fat Puku's started in someone else's kitchen. On 25 July 2026 we are going back to it.
Pioneer Pies in Old Albany Village gave us our first shot. Five years on we are returning to the North Shore for a one day pop up, and there is a burger pie involved.
In a pie shop in Albany, on Auckland's North Shore. Before Queen Street, before Wynyard Quarter, before any of it, we were two blokes with a burger and nowhere to sell it.
A mutual mate introduced us to Ty, who runs Pioneer Pies. We rang him. He told us to come and cook him a burger, and if he liked it, we would talk. We did not own anything to cook on, so we went and bought a BBQ that morning, fired it up outside his shop, and smashed him a patty.
He liked it. The arrangement was simple. The pie shop shut at five, we took over until nine, five nights a week. That is where Fat Puku's began.
Two things, and each of us is making our own.
Pioneer Pies are doing a burger pie for $10. Their pastry, their kitchen, our burger inside it.
We are doing a burger for $10, smashed on the griddle outside their shop, the same way we did it the first time.
Both are available from 12pm on Saturday 25 July until they sell out. There is no cap and no bookings. When it is gone, it is gone.
Because Ty and Carla backed us when nobody else had.
They gave two people with no track record a room to work out of, in 2020, when the hospitality industry was on its knees. Every burger we have sold since started with that decision.
Eventually we outgrew the space. We were taking up more and more room, and Ty had his own plans to grow the pie business. He was the one who told us it was time to go and get our own place. He was right, and we went and found Queen Street.
This pop up is how we say thanks.
Pioneer Pies is in Old Albany Village on Auckland's North Shore, a short drive from the motorway, with parking in the village.
If you are coming up from the Auckland CBD, give yourself extra time. We are expecting it to be busy.
From 12pm on Saturday 25 July 2026, and earlier is better.
We are not making these all afternoon. Both the burger pie and the burger run until they sell out, and then the pop up is finished for good.
No. The burger pie is a one day Limited Drop at Pioneer Pies in Albany, and it will not be on the menu at Queen Street or Wynyard Quarter, before or after.
If you cannot make the North Shore on the 25th, you can find us at 1/492 Queen Street in the Auckland CBD and 12 Jellicoe Street in Wynyard Quarter. Take a look at the full menu, see both locations, or book a table.
We are filming it.
This pop up is the first chapter of a series we are making about how Fat Puku's came to be. Ty and Karla are in it. The story starts at Pioneer Pies in Albany, so that is where the film starts too.
Come and be part of it.
Q: When is the Fat Puku's pop up at Pioneer Pies?
Saturday 25 July 2026, from 12pm. It is a one day event at Pioneer Pies in Old Albany Village on Auckland's North Shore. Both the burger pie and the burger run until they sell out, so it pays to come early rather than late in the afternoon.
Q: Where is Pioneer Pies in Albany?
Pioneer Pies is in Old Albany Village on the North Shore, a short drive from the motorway, with parking available in the village. If you are driving up from the Auckland CBD, allow extra time on the day, as we are expecting it to be busy.
Q: What is the burger pie?
It is a Fat Puku's burger inside a Pioneer Pies pastry, made by Pioneer Pies in their own kitchen for this one day. It costs $10 and it has never been made before. It will not be made again after the 25th.
Q: How much does everything cost?
The burger pie from Pioneer Pies is $10. The burger from Fat Puku's, smashed on the griddle outside, is also $10
Q: How many are available?
There is no set number. Both the burger pie and the burger are available from 12pm until they sell out, and once they are gone, the pop up is over.
Q: Can I pre order or book for the pop up?
No. This is walk up only. Turn up at Pioneer Pies in Old Albany Village from 12pm on 25 July and join the queue. There are no bookings, no holds, and no pre orders.
Q: Will the burger pie be available at your restaurants afterwards?
No. The burger pie is a Limited Drop made for this one day at Pioneer Pies and it will not appear on the menu at Queen Street or Wynyard Quarter. Our regular menu is available at both restaurants as normal.
Q: Why is Fat Puku's doing a pop up at a pie shop?
Because that is where Fat Puku's started. In 2020 Pioneer Pies let us run a burger pop up out of their kitchen after they closed for the day, five nights a week. Five years on, we are going back to mark it and to thank Ty and Carla.
Q: Are the Fat Puku's restaurants open on the 25th?
Yes. Queen Street in the Auckland CBD and Wynyard Quarter on Jellicoe Street are both trading as normal. The Albany pop up is a separate one day event on the North Shore.
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