How the sign from an iconic Charlottetown restaurant came back to family

The Peter Pan restaurant stood on the north finish of Charlottetown from 1958 to 2012. It was such a landmark that the nook it sat on remains to be referred to as by that title.

The burger restaurant was torn down in 2013.

The unique wood signal went to Holland Faculty for restoration by heritage carpentry college students. The destiny of the illuminated signal was unknown till not too long ago.

Roger Wells, a Summerside actual property agent who collects classic indicators, got here throughout the register a classic picker sale.

It was half of a bigger lot and he ended up taking all of it to get the signal. He put it up on the market in a Fb publish.

“And inside, I might say, half-hour … I truly took it down as a result of the cellphone was ringing off the hook. It was wonderful. I’ve by no means had a lot of a response,” he stated.

Lots of the calls got here from individuals who used to work on the restaurant, or whose youngsters had labored there — It was a supply of pupil summer time and part-time jobs for many years — however there was one name specifically that intrigued him.

That was from Matthew Hill, grandson of Peter Pan co-founder Doug Hill.

Hill stated he began getting calls and messages from associates as quickly because the publish went up and he referred to as Wells immediately.

“I beloved listening to tales about again when he was constructing these eating places and his imaginative and prescient behind it,” he stated. “It was at all times sort of inspiring.”

The household already has a number of the elder Hill’s harness racing memorabilia, and he wished so as to add the signal to the gathering.

Folks have been beginning to bid over the asking worth for the signal. One provided greater than twice the $1,000 he had tagged it for, however Wells preferred Hill’s story.

“Once you’re a picker and you recognize it should the correct spot, generally it is not at all times about cash,” stated Wells.

He offered it to Hill for the unique $1,000 asking worth, then rotated and donated the cash for the continuing restoration of the unique signal.

The present house owners of the previous restaurant property stated in 2013 they deliberate to construct a mall there, however the web site stays vacant.