The face of a yellow Labrador retriever is carved into a block of elm next to the entrance of Wriggley’s Pub in Sun City, welcoming both regular and new customers who walk through the door.

The intricate carving represents owner Nels Johnson’s 5-year-old dog, Wriggley, who died more than a decade ago. When the Sun City resident opened his bar and restaurant in November 2013, he saw it fitting to name the establishment after his beloved dog, he said.

“People think I named [the pub] after Wrigley Field, but no, it was after [my dog], Wriggley,” he said. “I had to put her down due to cancer; it was just a big thing in my life.”

In the past year and a half the restaurant and pub has grown to employ 12 staff members, four of those being chefs. Those on staff wear Wriggley’s T-shirts, the backs of many reading “In dog beers I’ve only had one.”

The Italian-themed restaurant offers soups and salads, wings and specialty sub sandwiches such as grilled bratwurst and pulled pork. The most popular dish is the 14-inch brick oven pizza, Kitchen Manager Filiberto Valverde said. He said he estimates the staff serves a minimum of 25 pizzas per day. However, on busy days they can serve as many as 50.

The restaurant also features a full bar serving specialty drinks, wine and draft beer. Sunday morning mimosas and bloody marys are popular, and Thirsty Thursday specials regularly draw a singles crowd that fills the bar to near capacity, General Manager Jasmine Harris said.

Unlike many other restaurants, the pub loses business during the summer since Wriggley’s serves a large crowd of retired residents in Sun City, many of whom travel north or go on vacation during the summer months, she said.

However, the pub does not serve Sun City diners exclusively, a number of from neighborhoods across nearby Williams Drive also bring loyal customers of all ages as well as those who travel in from out of town, Harris said. 

“We have a lot of regulars,” Harris said. “We know most everybody by name. That’s a big thing because they live here; this is their bar.”

Johnson said he would like to expand the business as early as this fall. In addition to Wriggley’s Pub, he owns the property next door, which he hopes will become a party room for the restaurant. Harris said she is working to get a larger cooler to store more items in the kitchen, and the added space would also allow the staff to expand the menu. 

“Once we work on that, we’ll know a bit better in which direction we want to head,” Harris said.

In honor of Wriggley Wriggley’s Pub owner Nels Johnson’s 5-year-old Labrador retriever, Wriggley, inspired the restaurant’s name. Her likeness is also featured on the T-shirts of employees and in memorabilia spread throughout the eatery, such as the large carving that stands by the front entrance. Johnson’s beloved pet died from cancer more than a decade ago.