The Hog Penny was formerly a bicycle shop selling Penny Farthing bicycles before being converted to a meat slaughterhouse selling huge blocks of ice that had been shipped in from North America during the winter. When it first opened as the Hog Penny, during the late stages of segregation, shockingly, it had a divider down the middle of it to separate the races. Soon though, equality prevailed and the middle divider was removed. The Hog Penny was cobbled together from old Watney’s pubs in England that were being withdrawn and many of the mirrors, benches and sheep shearing tools you see on the shelves date back to the early 1900s.

Small, cozy Hog Penny, aka the Cheers bar, was the inspiration for the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston. With dark-wood paneling and hearty, comforting fare like steak-and-kidney pie and bangers and mash, the Hog Penny will likely remind you more of an English country pub than a Boston hangout. Popular musician Will Black plays most nights in the summer, and the floor is cleared for dancing. It’s open nightly until 1 am, and it can be very busy.