When the now late Joe Malick and partners bought a building in 1974, Malick’s wife was aghast, and asked him, “What are you doing with this pig stye? It’s so disgusting,” daughter Joela Malick recalls.
Five years later in 1979, he opened “Piggy’s Cafe” – the name inspired by the comment.
That “pig stye” turned into a local institution, becoming a popular watering hole, restaurant, event space and fundraising mecca at at 69 Hawthorn St.
Some 50 years later, Piggy’s is not only still thriving, but it’s being upgraded and reimagined by a couple who is leasing the business and the property from Joela Malick.
Piggy’s is not only still thriving, but it’s being upgraded and reimagined by a couple who is leasing the business and the property from Joela Malick. (Courtesy)
“We started to visit and fell in love with the vibe,” said lessee Deron Freeman. “It was a community environment that promotes fun.”
It’s still a “dive bar,” Freeman said and that’s just like he and wife Carla Peralta Freeman like it, they both said.
They compared it to once being like the television bar Cheers, where everybody knew your name. It’s no longer a big catch-a-drink-after-work bar since nearby Aetna employees went remote after the pandemic. Deron Freeman said Aetna employees once accounted for 90 percent of the business.
The couple is trying to get the happy hour crowd back and making changes to return the business to hospitality gold.
They are upscaling the food with the recent hiring of popular Connecticut Chef Corey Smith and holding bold new events to attract more customers, such as a four-week karaoke contest with a $1,000 purse.
“Hopefully with that prize we’ll get the best singers from around the state,” Deron Freeman said.
Acclaimed Chef Smith, who owned One Bar + One Kitchen near the train station in Hartford, is devising a menu now that will include Asian, West Indian and Southern cuisine, and fusion. He envisions maybe a “soul food” night and also making a variety spread for customers to try out.
He follows all the social media trends and wants to try different things “that are popular,” he said.
“I want to give it more flair,” he said of the current menu, mainly bar food.
A self-taught chef, Smith said cooking is a “passion.”
“I dream about food,” and sometimes gets culinary inspirations in those dreams, he said.
A weekly weekend event drawing hundreds that was already in place before the Freemans took over is the “Backyard Takeover” event with food, drink, a disc jockey, a tent, cabanas for rent.”
The back of the building outside becomes a dance floor and as many as 500 people attend per night. There are food trucks too, like a mini festival.
Piggy’s is not only still thriving, but it’s being upgraded and reimagined by a couple who is leasing the business and the property from Joela Malick. (Courtesy)
Deron said he likes the “versatility” of Piggy’s, it’s a bar, a restaurant, and event space with lots of potential.
“We didn’t see it as a regular bar,” Deron Freeman said.
While updating and improving, the Freemans want also to preserve the original character of Piggy’s, which had its glory days before the pandemic. They also want to honor Joe Malick’s legacy.
The now late Joe Malick, owner of Piggy’s Cafe. (Courtesy)
They kept the same wooden tables and metal chairs, some of the endless pig decor brought in by customers through the years (many more are stored in the basement) and the outside is the same “atrocious red” it always was, as that’s trademark, Deron Freeman said.
But they added four televisions, a sound system, and revamped the kitchen.
“We updated, but we didn’t want to change it too much,” Deron said. “We wanted to keep it a dive bar – which we love.”
Piggy’s seats 55 inside, 25 on the patio and 19 at the bar,
The Freemans are leasing from Joela Malick, who ran the place for years after her father’s death but she’s still involved as a business consultant, bar manager, part-time bartender.
She said she had lucrative offers from others to lease Piggy’s, but the Freemans hit a special chord because “they’re fantastic people.”
“We’re like a family,” she said of the Freemans’ and employees. “A big dysfunctional family.”
She said her dad was loved by so many customers who brought him hundreds of pieces of pig decor through the years. He was also known for his endless fundraising and charitable giving, especially to children’s causes, she said.
Deron Freeman is a criminal defense and personal injury attorney who is taking a break from the profession to concentrate on Piggy’s revamp, as he’s always been interested in hospitality.
The Freemans took over in May.
Carla Freeman said she loves that Piggy’s is about nightlife, but also a place where kids and families can enjoy karaoke at Sunday brunch, she said.
The late Joe Malick and his wife, Carol, owners of Piggy’s Cafe. (Courtesy)
“I liked the atmosphere,” she said noting customers still “love” to tell stories of Piggy’s and Joe Malick from back in the day.
Carla Freeman said she loves the views of Hartford from the patio. “It’s a nice place to be,” she said.
Deron is enjoying the business, he said, and loves during Backyard Takeover when there’s a step dance on and and 50 people are dancing in unison.
“I want to create a space where people can safely escape their issues even if it’s for an hour or so, ” he said.
Dining and Cooking