Peppi’s Pizzeria
Tim Goldie came to Invermere from Saskatchewan in 1988 to work in his uncle’s (Tim Strand’s) restaurant. When Tim decided to make it a career, he went to Camosun College in Victoria to study Hotel and Restaurant Administration.
His uncle sold his restaurant in the early 1990s. Being a person who liked to keep busy, he looked around for a new business venture and rented the space where Peppi’s is now located, with the idea of starting a book store.
As fate would have it, however, in 1995, he found some equipment for sale from another restaurant (a pizza restaurant no less), and decided to go back into the business of feeding the hungry public. But before the new restaurant was open for business, Uncle Tim changed his mind and decided he didn’t want to do it after all. The rest is history, at least the history of Peppi’s Pizza!
At that time, there were 3 other pizza restaurants in Invermere plus some of the bars sold pizza, as well. But that didn’t bother Tim at all. He just set about to make his pizza restaurant the best in town.
Originally, Peppi’s was more of a family restaurant, with chicken and several pastas on the menu. However the pizza was what people came for and so last year Tim and his partner, Laura Lindsay, decided to do a complete makeover of the menu and the decor. Today, Peppi’s is a licensed, sophisticated, urban chic pizzeria where pizza is the main entrée and the star of the show and everything is Italian.
They are so popular that there are even some Albertans who order on their cell phones an hour and a half away so they can stop on their way to the cottage to pick up their pizza!
In nice weather, two overhead garage doors open twelve feet of the front wall of the restaurant to the outdoor patio where flower boxes, filled with tomatoes, herbs, etc., give a bit of a Tuscan flavor to your dining experience.
A large cooler indoors displays all kinds of antipastis, stuffed peppers, really delicious olives and lots more.
Peppi’s offers 30 delicious pizzas in 3 sizes, to eat in or to take out, plus desserts, wine and other beverages. Somewhat modified to suit the North American preference, Peppi’s pizzas have lots of traditional Italian ingredients such as Prosciutto, roasted peppers, bruschetta, etc. Even world travelers have come back again and again, saying they are the best they’ve tasted.
In the garden season, all of the greens used at Peppi’s come from Edible Acres and Winvalley Gardens in Windermere –- spinach, arugula, cucumbers, all of the herbs -– and are picked daily. The tomatoes are from Patty’s Greenhouse in Brisco and the peppers are BC hothouse. The specialty cheeses are produced in BC and Peppi’s uses the highest quality meats they can obtain.
More and more people want thin-crust pizzas these days and Peppi’s now has them on the menu, along with regular and also gluten-free.
“Pepperoni and Hawaiian are the kids’ favorites and the guys go for the Meat Lover’s”, says Tim. And he adds, “If anyone is still hungry after pizza, Laura makes beautiful desserts”.
Besides Tim and Laura, there are two full-time staff in the winter months and up to fourteen in the summer. They are open 7 nights a week in the summer with lunches served as well during July and August. Peppi’s hosts parties, sports teams, bike clubs and special interest groups on a regular basis and they also cater for business luncheons, meetings, school lunches and events.
Peppi’s Pizza is located at 1018 – 8th Avenue in Invermere. If you are hungry for the best the valley has to offer, drop in or call 250-342-3421 for take-out.
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