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The Hatter celebrates 20th anniversary in Orangeville

July 20, 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Hatter Gastropub in Orangeville really is one of those places were ‘everybody knows your name.’

Last Friday, July 13, the pub was hosting a special evening to celebrate 20 years in business and almost everyone who came through the door was greeted by owner Perry Meeker and he called pretty much everybody by name.

The popular pub is has become somewhat of a local tradition for a lot of people including many sports teams that consider it the place to be after a game.

Located on First Street, the Hatter actually got its start in an historic old feed mill building on Broadway that suited the pub very well.

Unfortunately the building went up in flame in a spectacular blaze in 2003 that was later attributed to an arsonist who thought lighting the fire would cover his tracks after a burglary.

Not letting that disaster get in his way, Meeker re-opened at the current location a year later.

Mr. Meeker got his start in the restaurant industry after learning the business while in school.

“All through university I was involved in running pub. It was just a natural thing for me to do,” he explained. “It took me almost a year and half to find the original location. Previously it was an indoor merchant mall and there was already a restaurant on the second floor. I moved in underneath and did a full build-out. We had a games room with pool tables in the back and the front was the restaurant.”

The fact that the feed mill building was over 100 years old added to the character of the place but also came with a few quirks common in century old structures.

“It was such an old building that the floors where out by six inches over 16 feet (width). You could put a marble on the floor and it would always end up in the middle of the room.” Meeker said.

The current location also has a lot of character and is designed like an Irish pub – although in this location the floors are level and the food served by a previous owner was Greek.

A gastropub is defined as a restaurant that serves high-end food and beer and food in a pub style setting.

A quick look at the Hatter menu shows a variety of choices including different curries and pub pies and specialties like potato crusted halibut.

In the kitchen, chef Bruce Johnston has been on board with the Hatter for 20 years and knows what his customer’s like to have for dinner. General manager Jo Griffith has also been with the pub a long time and enjoys meeting and interacting with guests.

While weekends are always busy with patrons who enjoy the food and the atmosphere, Wednesday’s are also popular as the pub features ‘wing night’ as a mid week reason to go out for a drink and wings.

The restaurant can seat up to 145 people with a lot of space between tables.

The anniversary celebration featured live performances and an outdoor patio to enjoy a nice summer night.

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