Bendigo-born Gillies Pies will now be made, packed and distributed entirely outside the city's borders after its owners closed their Mayfair Park factory on the weekend.
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Hydrate Beverages, which acquired the Gillies name in 2012, began vacating the premises on Saturday, but employees did not know about the site’s closure until they turned up for work on Monday morning.
Mayfair Park landlord Leon Scott also did not know the business was departing its premises until Monday.
Geelong-based Routley's Bakery, which began manufacturing Gillies goods in 2012, will now assume responsibility for packing and delivery.
Spokesperson for the Geelong company Sam Routley said he had known for "three or four weeks" about Hydrate Beverages’ intent to cease work in Bendigo.
He said wholesale customers "should not be effected too much", a sentiment echoed by Simon Bush, manager of the Gillies Famous Pies shop on the corner of Lyttleton Terrace and Williamson Street in Bendigo.
"It's business as usual here," he said.
Mr Routley said the only changes to the business would be the frequency of delivery and that Gillies cakes would now carry the Routley's logo.
"We'll keep the Gillies pies, pasties and sausage rolls," he said.
The 66-year-old brand name was founded in 1950 when Les Gillies and his brothers, Alan and Norm, purchased a bakery in Mitchell Street.
The owner of Hydrate Beverages, Nick Popovski, was contacted for comment.
