#MiddleburyCT #Pies&Pub
Pies & Pub owners, Chris Gogas, left, and Theo Anastasiadis stand in the bar they developed into a tap room with 26 draft offerings. They are celebrating the business’s 12th anniversary during October. (Marjorie Needham photo)
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
When Pies & Pints (as it was initially called) opened in the former Perrotti’s Pizza in 2011, it opened in an already popular restaurant. Now named Pies & Pub, its owners, Chris Gogas and Theo Anastasiadis, have over the past 12 years made the business even more popular, welcoming customers into the neighborhood pub, increasing the number of draft offerings to 26 from its original four, and adding more variety to the menu.
Theo periodically updates the menus. In addition to pizza, he has added new sandwiches, appetizers, salads and dinners. The two also have done interior renovations, added the patio for spring to fall outdoor dining and added technology that improves service in the restaurant and online.
They will celebrate their 12th anniversary with events throughout the month. On Sunday, October 15, customers are invited to drop by between 12 and 4 p.m. to join the celebration. They also are bringing back tap takeovers three Fridays at 5 p.m. with taste testings by Two Roads on October 6, Counter Weight on October 20 and New England Brewing Company on October 27.
The updated piesandpub.com website is launching in October, so check it for weekly specials. Also, if you sign up with the new website, you will get a one-time 12% discount.
Middlebury residents Bob Rafford and his wife, Joannie, eat there frequently. Bob said, “I was a little skeptical at first (when the restaurant changed hands), but it just got even better.” He said the service is wonderful and both the food and staff are great. “They also have a great selection of beers and mixed drinks,” he said.
Speaking of Theo’s wife, who works there, he said, “Georgia is just marvelous, She is so sweet and so nice.” He estimated she puts in 40 miles a day zipping about the restaurant.
Rafford also noted the restaurant often hosts fundraisers for various causes. And, he said, it’s a great place for appointments when you need a place to meet someone and sit and talk with them. “Everybody seems to know where it is,” he said. “It’s easy to find.”
Janine and Kent Sullivan-Wiley also are frequent customers. Their emailed response when asked about Pies & Pub was, “We really love Pies & Pub … for many reasons. The food and drinks are great, and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. It’s a great place for friends and neighbors to get together in a relaxed atmosphere. Theo and Georgia welcome customers they know like family. And if that wasn’t enough, they are very generous. Theo has supported Land Trust events with an open heart, and that same charitable bent has extended to many other organizations and causes. They are truly good neighbors to our community.”
Becoming part of the community is exactly what Chris and Theo were hoping to do, they said during a recent interview. Chris said his father’s restaraunt, Jordan’s in Southbury, had been an important part of that community and he and Theo wanted Pies and Pub to become an important part of the Middlebury community. Over the past 12 years, they have helped PTOs, run numerous fundraisers for a range of causes, provided teacher lunches, and for 5 years ran an annual “Ta-Ta Trot” that raised funds for breast cancer research. They also have responded helpfully to last minute requests from community organizations like a recent request for the parking lot to be used for the Middlebury Land Trust’s Sunflower Days event.
Starting with four beers on tap, the two have grown the tap room to offer 26 different draft beers. It attracts customers from all over the state, even some from out of state they said.
Covid presented enormous challenges, but the two quickly regrouped and adapted. Chris said, “You have to be open to adopting new ways of doing things.”
They set up curbside pickup, added deliveries and expanded their online sales as they dealt with ordering gloves and masks and dealing with food shortages. Now they offer deliveries from 4 to 8 p.m. within a 3 mile radius. On October 2, their online store is set to change so delivery fees will be lower than they have been.
They said they initially chose the name “Pies & Pints” because it pairs pizza and beer. However, a restaurant owner in Indiana contacted them, said he had rights to the name, and asked them to change theirs. Apparently, he was going to franchise his business. That’s why “Pies & Pints” became “Pies & Pub.”
Theo said it was simpler to change the name and the restaurant shirts than to have to hire a lawyer and go all over the country going to court over the name. No matter what its name may be, the customers we spoke to have nothing but praise for this restaurant.
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