Peel Pub is coming back, eight months after the downtown institution filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors. A new ownership group has quietly acquired the bar and is targeting a reopening before St. Patrick's Day.
Opened in 1962 across from Dorchester Square, the pub spent six decades as a reliable fixture for students, downtown workers, and anyone spilling out of the Bell Centre after a game. It survived decades of shifting foot traffic—and a 2010 fire at its De la Montagne location that caused $100,000 in damage—before finally going under during the summer of 2025, reportedly leaving employees with unpaid tips and a lot of regulars without their go-to spot.
New owners Tony Fewkes, Paul C. Quinn, and Francesco Fanelli aren't outside money. Fewkes previously owned McLeans on de la Montagne; Quinn ran the Irish Embassy before co-founding MaBrasserie with Fanelli. They picked up the assets out of bankruptcy quietly, spent the intervening months renovating, and are now hiring staff ahead of the reopening.
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