SYRACUSE — The purchase of a used pizza oven six years ago started a journey that has led to a second Pie Eyed Petey’s location.
Barb and Roy Haymer are the owners of the new restaurant/bar and also own a similar, but larger facility on Lake Tippecanoe.
“This pre-Civil War building is all ours,” Barb said with a laugh while seated in the bar side of the Syracuse restaurant. The building was constructed in 1860, according to Roy, and had been a telegraph office at one time. Most recently Lil’s Anchor Bar occupied the space at 101 W. Main St.
The Haymers purchased the business in March and remodeled the interior. They opened the restaurant and bar for business July 5.
“It’s a taste of Key West with Midwest values,” Barb said of the restaurant. She has been adding whimsical and historic items to the bar to give it a special atmosphere.
Most noticeable is a phone booth imbedded in the wall next to the restroom doors. The phone booth had been in a bar in Chicago. That bar was owned by famous 1960s-era professional wrestler Edward “Moose” Cholak. The old dial notepad still has “Moose’s Bar” scribbled in pencil on it. And the phone works.
There are other items in the bar sure to be noticed — a large alligator skin, a bamboo bicycle and a display of black and white photos featuring old Chris-Craft speedboats, keeping with the town’s lake theme.
But about that pizza oven.
Barb said Roy owned a marina on Lake Tippecanoe and people were always stopping in to buy gasoline or have their boats serviced. But those people were often hungry and asking if there was any food available. There wasn’t. At least not until Barb purchased a used pizza oven from a friend and started serving pizzas at the marina. That first food service operation led to the first Pie Eyed Petey’s restaurant, which has led to the new Syracuse location.
The Syracuse Pie Eyed Petey’s seats 65 and is divided into a family room/restaurant and the bar area.
Barb and Roy didn’t want to reveal how they came up with the unusual name of Pie Eyed Petey’s, other than to say it came about during a social outing. The logo for the bar features a tough-looking dog with a black patch of fur around one eye and a black ring around the other eye.
The Haymers said they are happy with their new venture. “We hope to make a long-term friendship with the residents of Syracuse,” Barb said.
Restaurant fare
There are child-sized meals of grilled cheese and chicken nuggets available, but for adults the offerings are more substantial. Wings with an assortment of flavorings and cold sandwiches, including tuna salad and ham and cheese, begin the menu. There are also freshly made salads and 11 varieties of sub sandwiches.
Patrons can also order up a substantial steak burger, chicken breast sandwich and breaded tenderloin or BLT.
Sausage rolls with lake-related names of “Pontoon,” “Sailboat,” and “Wave Runner” are served with barbecue or pizza sauce and are folded and baked with cheese and pizza sauce.
And sticking with the origins of Pie Eyed Petey’s is a selection of specialty pizzas.
To get all that food to the customers’ tables, the Haymers employ 25 people full- and part-time in the kitchen and as wait staff.
All food is cooked to order, according to Barb. “So we are not fast food, but good food.”
One other feature of the restaurant and bar is that on Saturday nights, customers can listen to live music or take part in karaoke from 8 to 11 p.m.
Pie Eyed Petey’s Syracuse
- Owners: Barb and Roy Haymer
- Address: 101 W. Main St., Syracuse
- Phone: 574-457-3912
-
Hours: Opens at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon on Sundays. Closing times vary, depending on customer traffic.
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