Pig’s Ear to open again ‘as if it never closed’

New owners plan to keep spirit and vibe of historic pub intact

Ashley Holmes is about to reopen the historic Pig’s Ear in downtown Peterborough, knowing the tavern inside out: she previously worked there for nearly a decade.

“I started out actually on the patio, working the Weenie Wagon. It was barbecue hot dogs,” she said this week.

That was in 2008: she was a 22year-old business student at Trent University.

Eventually she became the bartender and worked there on and off until the tavern’s last week in 2017.

The owners at the time, John Punter and Lylie Ryder, were retiring after running the bar for 20 years. They’ve since moved to Mexico.

Now their former bartender Holmes, with new business partner Steve Robertson, are reopening this summer and plan to make the bar look as lived-in as ever.

They might do a bit of “modernizing,” Robertson said — restroom renovations, for instance.

But they won’t mess with the familiar relaxed decor.

“In terms of the look and the feeling and spirit of the space, it should be as if it never closed,” he said.

The Pig’s Ear — known to many as The Piggy — closed in April 2017 after 152 years in business.

It was a beloved watering hole — particularly for Trent students — that was known for its live music.

But Holmes wasn’t in any position to take over the bar at that time — and neither was anyone else.

It sat empty for more than five

years, after a developer’s plans to tear down the building fell through.

But now Holmes and fellow Trent graduate Robertson have purchased the building and earlier this week announced The Piggy’s revival.

“Fortunately, we get a second chance to bring it (The Piggy) back,” Holmes said this week, in a Zoom interview that also included Robertson.

Not that either of them could have predicted they’d soon be bar owners.

“I don’t think either of us would be looking to start a bar — individually or together — if it were not the Pig’s Ear,” Robertson said.

“Yeah — not a chance,” Holmes agreed.

Furthermore neither of them has called Peterborough home for awhile. She’s been living recently in Fernie, B.C. He lives in Orangeville.

But in October the two were introduced through mutual friends who saw potential for them to get into business in Peterborough.

Holmes and Robertson had a lot in common, though they’d never met: they had both been rowers (though not in the same years) at Trent, for instance and they both remembered The Piggy well.

Meanwhile Robertson has maintained ties with the university, helping with the Head of the Trent regatta.

He’d been hearing for years about how much people miss the bar, and he’s previously bought investment properties in Peterborough.

Holmes was hearing the same kind of nostalgia for The Piggy, and knew she could operate it.

“When we saw the bar come back for sale, a mutual friend connected Ashley and myself, and it was sort of the perfect match,” Robertson said.

It works because Holmes “has this deep reservoir of experience working there and working in the hospitality industry,” he said.

“And I’ve got a lot of experience starting up businesses and managing them,” he went on. “It just made sense — we took the leap.”

They had only met virtually when they put in an offer to buy the building.

Now Holmes is moving back to Peterborough to run the bar, and Robertson will come here occasionally from Orangeville.

In the meantime they will recreate the look of The Piggy, perhaps including some of the original furniture and fixtures that were cleared out of the building in June 2017.

At that time, the developer was planning the demolition and auctioned off the contents of the bar for charity.

But after redevelopment plans collapsed, the bar was left an empty shell — and was later listed for sale again.

Robertson said he and Holmes have been “flooded” this week with emails from people who bought items like graffiti-scrawled tables from The Piggy, offering them back.

The new owners plan to accept those items. Robertson said some former patrons have furthermore volunteered their time and skills to help renovate.

It’s all happening with the blessing of former owners Punter and Ryder, Holmes said.

Although they couldn’t be reached for comment on Wednesday, Holmes said the former owners are excited by the reopening.

However Robertson said there’s a “legacy” to live up to.

“The patrons as well as the former owners, John and Lylie — they put their heart and soul into it and they’re very supportive of what we’re doing,” he said. “We’re in communication with them constantly, and we want to make sure that their spirit continues.”

Robertson and Holmes will be posting news on their website at pigseartavern.com and can be reached via email at info@pigseartavern.com.