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BBQ eatery emerges from fire

After a fire they didn't cause, in a building that wasn't theirs, caused The Copper Pig BBQ House to shut down for nearly six months, the George Street restaurant is about to open its doors again.
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Copper Pig BBQ House owner Tyler Burbee will be reopening the restaurant's doors on Oct. 25 after a fire closed the business for almost six months.

After a fire they didn't cause, in a building that wasn't theirs, caused The Copper Pig BBQ House to shut down for nearly six months, the George Street restaurant is about to open its doors again.

The fire on May 4 destroyed a couple of old buildings along the historic city thoroughfare, and smoke damage also made The Copper Pig a temporary casualty. On Oct. 25 they open the doors to show their resilience.

"It kinda hit me as I was running round today getting the final touches ready," said owner Tyler Burbee. "It takes days to make the food so we bought a whole pig from Wolfe Farms in Pineview and we're doing a roast pig; we will have some barbecue samples; live music; prizes; we're letting it be fun for people because we really appreciate how they have stuck with us over this very difficult summer."

The shutdown was a crushing blow to the business's bottom line, said Burbee, but it was not without some benefits in the details. They are adding a portable stage, for example "because people told us, they valued live music, so we're going to do more of that," starting with Sound Addiction at the grand reopening party. This is the same band that played the original Copper Pig grand opening in 2012, and a couple of special events since then "so it would have felt wrong if they were there this night, too. And her [lead singer Jol Kress] voice fills the place up so well."

The food being served at the reopening party is not straight off the regular menu. Burbee said everything would be presented on a special occasion basis, partially because it is a major celebration in the already storied young history of the business, but partially as a failsafe in their preparations to reopen to the broader public. It takes 10 days for their specialty item, brisket, to come together and an small variable could set the kitchen staff back. He encouraged the public to come back a few times in the first while to take in all the subtle ways he and his team utilized the unscheduled time off.

"We looked into everything, right down to what font we were using on the menus, everything," Burbee said. "We didn't want to make wholesale changes so people didn't feel a familiar connection with the place they were used to, but it was a chance to make those minor adjustments and just be that much better. We wouldn't wish to have this happen to anyone, but we do think it will work out well in the long run."