It's been an extended season of change and transformation for Vancouver's The Flying Pig, and its restaurant group overall, and the latest news is that the Olympic Village branch of the upscale comfort eats spot has closed permanently - and sooner than anticipated.
"We regret to inform you that we are closing our doors for good at 127 W 2nd Ave after ten wonderful years," reads a printed sign posted to the restaurant's window.
The restaurant's last day of business was September 1. The closure came earlier than expected, per previous reports, and was tied to the lease.
The Flying Pig opened its Olympic Village location in late 2014, just months after its older sibling in Gastown debuted that April, and about three-and-a-half years after the brand launched its original Yaletown location in July 2011.
However, in April 2022, a devastating fire at the Winters Hotel, in which The Flying Pig occupied a ground floor space, led to the restaurant's permanent closure - and the building's demolition.
And while the Flying Pig was built on comforting elevated West Coast-inspired pub-style fare, in the past few years, the owners have been leaning into its success with its sibling restaurants that reflect the talent of Chef Francisco Higareda, who joined the Flying Pig group in 2017.
The group's first venture into Mexican cuisine was in the summer of 2020 with Ophelia, which replaced Flying Pig's seafood concept Wild Tale, right next door to The Flying Pig in Olympic Village.
The Flying Pig group followed with Monarca in Gastown, and, just this summer, launched Barra Gitano in the former Mary's on Davie space in the West End.
No word yet on what is to become of the shuttered ex-Flying Pig in Olympic Village space, or if the brand has immediate plans to re-open in a new location.
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