LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — More than 50 years after joining the family business, the president of Karn's Kitchen has passed away.
Tributes have been pouring in for Alan Scott Rupp, who died on June 7 at the age of 70. Karn's Kitchen announced his death on Facebook on Sunday, writing that he believed in “passion and purpose.”
According to his obituary, Rupp was affectionately known as “The Pie Guy,” loved golf, had a “love for nature and its beauty” and was a supporter of the Kentucky Restaurant Association.
FILE – Leodora Kahn and her husband Walter created the first Derby Pie at the Melrose Inn on Prospect in 1954. (WDRB/Archival photo from family)
Rupp started the family business in 1973, nearly 20 years after his grandparents, Walter and Leodora Kahn, made the first Derby Pie at the Melrose Inn on Prospect in 1954.
In an interview with WDRB in May 2023, Rupp looked back on how Derby Pie came about. According to him, his grandparents “wanted to develop a signature product for the restaurant that would reflect their own sense of style. They got together with their friends and put their names in a hat, and Derby Pie was chosen.”
By 1960, about 1,000 pies were sold. By 2005, that number had grown to 100,000, and the rest is history. Production increases every year as the Kentucky Derby approaches, with the kitchen churning out as many as 1,400 pies in a single day.
Rupp said he's honored that so many people think of the Kentucky Derby and then think of Derby Pie.
“I'm very proud,” he said. “To do this ride every year… it's very exciting.”
Visitation will be held Thursday, June 13th from 10am to 1:15pm at Latterman Brothers East Louisville, 12900 Shelbyville Road, followed by a funeral service from 1:15pm to 2:15pm.
To leave a condolence on Rupp's obituary page, click HERE In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the organization APRON. It provides temporary financial assistance to professional food and beverage workers who unexpectedly lose their jobs due to illness, accident, emergency or catastrophic event through no fault of their own.
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