What began with a second-hand pizza oven gathering dust in a farmyard has become one of North Devon's home-grown hospitality success stories. Now, husband-and-wife team Simon Harris and Rachel Hicken have opened an ambitious new restaurant in the heart of Barnstaple, bringing their award-winning pizzas to a historic town centre building.
When Simon Harris spent £200 on a second-hand pizza oven on eBay, he had absolutely no idea what to do with it. For several months, the oven sat gathering dust in the yard, waiting for inspiration to strike. More than a decade later, that rather impulsive purchase has helped create a thriving North Devon business employing 35 people, winning awards and serving thousands of pizzas.
Now Simon, 54, and his wife Rachel Hicken, 51, have taken their biggest step yet, transforming a former Barnstaple pub into a stylish new restaurant where freshly made pizzas, carefully selected wines and a warm welcome are all on the menu. For a couple who once moved to Devon hoping to leave hospitality behind altogether, it is quite a turnaround.
Their new Pig and Olive restaurant has opened at 87 Boutport Street, breathing fresh life into the Grade II listed former Rising Sun pub, known to generations of Barnstaple residents as the Riser. It is the culmination of years spent building the business from a mobile pizza trailer into an established name in North Devon's food scene, with a successful restaurant at Westward Ho! and regular visits to communities across the district.
Yet perhaps the most surprising part of the story is that neither Simon nor Rachel originally intended to start a pizza business at all.
Originally from the Midlands, the couple moved to North Devon in 2012 after Simon's parents settled in the county and other members of the family followed. Having spent much of their working lives in restaurants, pubs and hotels, they were looking for something rather different.
"We got a smallholding, trying to escape hospitality, having worked in it all our lives," Rachel said. "It is a really harsh industry to be in, and we'd had children. Bringing up children when you're working in hospitality is really difficult, so we decided we wanted to do something else."
They certainly had no shortage of experience between them. Simon had spent much of his career in the licensed trade, owning and running pubs around the country, while Rachel's introduction to hospitality came at the age of 14, when she worked in a small Italian restaurant. She subsequently moved into the wine trade, gaining professional wine qualifications, before becoming head sommelier at Bovey Castle and later being promoted to food and beverage manager.
Their shared love of hospitality also played a rather important role in bringing them together in the first place. Rachel was working for a wine merchant when Simon, who owned a pub at the time, became one of its customers. As she recalls, he had a habit of buying rather more wine than he probably needed.
"Simon owned a pub and he used to come in and buy too much wine for his business," Rachel said. "That's how we met. Then he moved away and we lost contact, before coming together again a few years later."
Despite their determination to escape the industry, life on their new Devon smallholding gradually brought them back towards food. The couple began rearing pigs and needed somewhere to sell the pork they were producing, leading them into catering at markets and events. They also started offering fine dining for small weddings and private occasions, but the direction of the business changed completely in 2015.
That was when Simon spotted the second-hand pizza oven on eBay.
"It was a really interesting purchase because it sat in our yard for a few months and we weren't really sure what to do with it," Simon said. "Then I saw a pizza oven on a trailer online and thought, we could put the oven we've got in the yard on a trailer. So I built a trailer, put the oven on it and we just started serving pizza."
The name Pig and Olive was a nod to their beginnings. The pig represented the pork from their smallholding, while the olive reflected the more refined catering they had started offering. A friend created a logo and, as Simon puts it, everything simply came together.
At first, their approach to making pizza was considerably less sophisticated than it is today. They bought frozen dough balls and began experimenting, gradually discovering just how much work went into creating a really good pizza. Simon became increasingly fascinated by the process, studying different techniques and perfecting the dough that would eventually become central to the business.
"In those days we used to buy frozen dough balls because we didn't really understand the whole dough-making process or how involved it was," Rachel said. "Over the years Simon really started learning what makes a good pizza and what makes good dough. Then we started making our own, and it just grew. There weren't really many pizza vans going out and about in those days, and it went down really well."
Their first regular outings took them to places such as High Bickington, before they began appearing at campsites, villages and events across North Devon. Simon remembers the enormous queues, late nights and the extraordinary amount of flour that seemed to find its way into every corner of the trailer. Some of his favourite memories are of cooking pizzas at coastal campsites, with the sea stretching out beyond the oven and holidaymakers patiently waiting for their food.
"There were a lot of really late nights, really long queues and a lot of flour everywhere," Simon said. "We went to some fantastic locations. We'd be standing at the pizza oven looking out over the sea, with this huge queue of campers waiting for their pizzas. Those were pretty special places to work."
As their reputation spread, the couple established regular stops in communities including Torrington, South Molton and Umberleigh. The mobile operation became particularly important during the Covid pandemic, when restaurants were closed and many people living in smaller villages had limited access to takeaway food.
"During Covid, when people weren't going out, we really focused on the smaller villages that couldn't have food delivered to them," Rachel said. "We went out and served those communities, which really spread our reach. People started to get to know us more and more, and that was a really positive thing to do during that period."
Another defining moment came in 2017, when the couple were offered the opportunity to take over a small café at Westward Ho! The premises belonged to a surf school whose owners were keen to find somebody else to run the catering, and Simon and Rachel decided to give it a try. They installed another pizza oven, developed the site and watched as their previously mobile business began establishing a permanent home.
"I think that's when things really started to take off," Simon said. "We put another pizza oven in and built it up as a static location. We bought the building around 2022, which was fantastic, and we've developed a really good local trade as well as the summer visitors."
The Westward Ho! venue remains open throughout the year, something the couple regard as particularly important in a coastal destination where so much trade depends on the holiday season. It has also allowed them to retain experienced staff rather than relying entirely on seasonal recruitment, with the restaurant earning recognition through the Food Drink Devon, Taste of the West and regional tourism awards.
"Making pizza is neither easy nor cheap, although a lot of people think it is," Simon said. "Training staff is hard work and it's expensive, and we want to keep hold of those people because we've got some really great staff. That's why staying open throughout the year is important to us."
Meanwhile, a takeaway and delivery operation at Pottington Industrial Estate helped the couple build a customer base in Barnstaple. They had been searching for a larger, more central location for some time, but it was Rachel's business studies at the University of Exeter that helped sharpen their long-term ambitions.
Having undertaken an MBA, she began looking more strategically at how Pig and Olive could grow without becoming excessively dependent on the fortunes of the tourism industry. They also needed a larger preparation kitchen to support their expanding operations, and somewhere with enough space to experiment with new ideas.
"It was becoming more and more apparent that if we were going to survive as a business well into the future, we needed something that offered more year-round stability and wasn't so affected by the tourist trade," Rachel said. "We also wanted the opportunity to look at different revenue streams, whether that's pizza workshops, courses, parties where people can make their own pizzas, or perhaps even pizza by post. Our old prep kitchen was really at capacity, so for sustainable growth we needed somewhere bigger."
The former Rising Sun in Boutport Street presented just such an opportunity, although transforming a historic pub into a contemporary restaurant was far from straightforward. The building's Grade II listed status brought additional considerations, and there was plenty of work involved in creating a new kitchen, dining area and the welcoming atmosphere they wanted.
Rather than erase its previous life, the couple have tried to celebrate some of the building's more colourful history. They have retained old pub signage and even preserved marks on the dance floor that once surrounded a dancing pole, details that have already prompted conversations with former customers and people who remember the building from decades past.
"What's been really nice is the number of people coming in and saying they used to come here," Simon said. "Some of those people are a little bit older now and have families, so they're looking at it differently. We tried to retain as much of the history of the building as we uncovered, and that's created a connection for local people."
One particularly memorable visitor turned out to be a former owner of the pub, who recognised a sign they had uncovered during the renovation. Simon showed him the marks left by the old dance pole and another original pub sign that had been preserved inside the restaurant, providing an unexpected reminder of the building's past.
"I think people are really pleased that the building is being looked after and used again," Rachel said. "The whole area has been a little bit run down, and we've had so many comments from people saying how nice it is to see somebody coming in and making use of a really old building."
Inside, the focus is firmly on creating somewhere people feel comfortable visiting, whether they are stopping for a morning coffee, meeting friends for lunch or settling in for a leisurely dinner. The restaurant initially has around 40 covers, with work continuing on another section of the building that will eventually allow the couple to double its capacity.
The pizza oven takes pride of place at the front, allowing customers to watch chefs stretching dough, adding toppings and sliding pizzas into the fierce heat. For Simon, the open kitchen is both a celebration of the cooking process and a way of making guests feel connected to the people preparing their food.
"Pizza is a really showy thing, and the oven is built to be looked at," Simon said. "Having that front and centre as you walk through the door was absolutely key for us. You can sit and watch your food being made, talk to the chefs and see what's happening. We also don't want people walking through the door and feeling that awkwardness you sometimes get in a new restaurant, wondering where to go or what to do. There should always be somebody there to welcome you."
It is an approach rooted in their years of hospitality experience, where both have come to believe that genuinely good service can make all the difference to a meal. Simon is particularly passionate about creating an atmosphere where customers leave feeling they have enjoyed something more than simply a plate of food.
"You can have a very mediocre meal and great service and go away feeling like you've had the best time ever," he said. "That's the feeling we want to capture, although obviously without the mediocre meal. The quality of the food matters enormously, but so does the way people are treated."
Of course, the pizzas themselves remain the stars of the show. Pig and Olive specialises in contemporary Neapolitan-style pizzas, cooked at temperatures of approximately 460 to 480 degrees Celsius for just 60 to 90 seconds. The result, Simon explains, is a light base with a distinctive flavour and aroma that comes from the combination of carefully prepared dough and an exceptionally hot oven.
"I think pizza is like cars. There are so many different varieties, and somebody might say they don't like pizza because they're thinking of a particular style, perhaps something they've bought from the supermarket," Simon said. "Ours is a very different product. The high temperature and the speed of cooking create a flavour and aroma from the dough that you just don't get at lower temperatures."
The toppings are approached with similar attention to detail. Rather than piling on as many ingredients as possible, Simon favours combinations where individual flavours can be appreciated, with traditional Italian influences sitting alongside more familiar favourites such as ham and pineapple.
"We've spent a very long time perfecting our recipes and getting them to a place where you can taste all the ingredients," he said. "Every bite should be slightly different. We use higher-quality ingredients and fewer of them, so nothing is overpowering. We're not Italian and we're not an Italian restaurant, but we're taking those principles and applying them in a way that reaches more people."
Asked to choose his own favourite, Simon has little difficulty naming the black truffle and mushroom pizza. "I could eat that all day," he said. There are, however, some less conventional items on the menu, including a dish called Not Chips, which owes its name to Simon's firm declaration that the new restaurant would never have a fryer or serve chips.
That particular rule was challenged by a chef named George, who developed a potato dish and persuaded Simon to taste it. When Simon objected that it was effectively the very thing he had banned, George insisted it was not chips, and the name stuck.
The couple's willingness to experiment extends to their vegetarian and vegan offerings, which they regard as an essential part of making the restaurant accessible to as many people as possible. At Westward Ho!, they invited around 35 people to a special vegan tasting evening, allowing customers to sample and give their verdict on a selection of new pizzas. The most popular creations subsequently earned permanent places on the menu.
"Menu development isn't an easy thing to do," Simon said. "It's a long process, a lot of eating, a lot of being full and a lot of trying different things. George and I spend quite a lot of time talking about flavours, often after service, and then we'll create something and get everybody else to try it. We gradually whittle the ideas down until we get something we're happy with."
The same approach is now being applied to a planned breakfast menu. During the interview, Simon admitted that the team had recently found themselves tasting six different omelettes in a single sitting, all in the name of research. It is, perhaps, one of the more enjoyable occupational hazards of running a restaurant.
As well as pizza, the Barnstaple venue offers coffee and pastries in the morning, Italian-style sandwiches and pizzas at lunchtime, and a broader menu in the evening. The couple are also developing specials that move beyond pizza, recognising that not everybody who comes through the door will necessarily want the same thing.
"We do have quite a lot of people who tell us they don't like pizza, but they like ours," Simon said. "We want people to be able to come in for different reasons throughout the day. Some people just want to sit by the window with a drink, others want lunch, and others want a proper evening meal. That's exactly what we hoped the building would become."
Rachel's extensive wine background has also played an important role in shaping the drinks offering. The couple have selected wines to complement the menu, alongside beers, spirits and cocktails, with a particular emphasis on supporting Devon producers wherever possible.
Among the local names featured are GT Ales, Utopian Brewing, Devon Rum and Bar Buoy cocktails, alongside wines from Devon and further afield. The kitchen also uses British mozzarella, while specialist ingredients are sourced from Italy when they cannot be found closer to home.
"If we can get something locally, we'll get it locally," Simon said. "But there are some ingredients we just can't get here, particularly some of the Italian ingredients we use. We source them from wherever we believe they're best, and that's what matters. Our flour was developed by Marco Fuso, one of the world pizza champions, who has also trained with us and some of our staff."
For all the attention given to the food and surroundings, the new restaurant has brought plenty of challenges. There are 16 people working at the Barnstaple site, contributing to a workforce of 35 across Pig and Olive's operations, and both Simon and Rachel have been spending almost every waking hour helping everything settle into place.
"I don't think we could be here any more unless we actually slept overnight," Rachel said. "There are new systems, new menu items and so many things we're all learning together. Simon is much more involved with the kitchen, menu development and working with the chefs, while I'm more front of house and developing the wine list and drinks. We're both very hands-on."
After more than two decades of working together in one form or another, they have developed a partnership that seems to function particularly well under pressure. Rachel likens their ability to work side by side in the confined space of a mobile catering trailer to a dance, with each instinctively knowing where the other needs to be.
"When you're in a tight space, it's very easy to be bumping into each other or reaching across one another," she said. "But there's almost a dance to it. We move around each other and we know what the other person is doing. We work really well together, although there are always frustrations with working with anyone."
Simon, naturally, insists he has never experienced any frustrations with Rachel, although she is rather less certain the feeling is entirely mutual. Both agree, however, that having a shared vision has helped them through the challenges of growing a business while raising a family.
Those challenges have become particularly significant in the present economic climate, with rising costs placing pressure on hospitality businesses across the country. The couple have invested in stock-control systems and technology to help manage costs, but they are adamant that technology should support their staff rather than replace the personal service they believe is so important.
"We've invested in a lot of technology to manage stock, sales and all of that, but we want it to do a certain job and not replace people on the ground," Rachel said. "It's there to enhance things and make people's jobs easier. Having people there to look after customers is still absolutely fundamental to what we do."
For Simon, the investment in Barnstaple represents both a considerable financial commitment and an expression of confidence in the future. He acknowledges that the next couple of years may be difficult, but believes the combination of an established customer base, a stronger central kitchen and new opportunities could help the business emerge in a better position.
"We've had to be really focused on the figures all the time, and that isn't easy," he said. "But if we can get through the next couple of years when things are really tight, we should be able to come out the other side in a much better position. We've got a wide reach because we've spent so many years visiting villages with the mobile unit. A lot of people already know us, and that really helps."
There are certainly no shortages of ideas for what comes next. With the second half of the Barnstaple building still being developed, Simon and Rachel hope to create room for pizza-making workshops, private celebrations and other experiences that will bring people together around food.
Rachel is particularly interested in the idea of banqueting-style evenings, where tables could be rearranged to encourage guests to meet new people and share a meal. Simon, meanwhile, is enthusiastic about developing a late-evening offering for people leaving the theatre or cinema, perhaps with sharing platters and a bottle of wine.
"I love the idea of people being able to come in after the theatre or cinema, have a sharing platter and a bottle of wine, and make an evening of it," Simon said. "There's such a lot we can do here. It's about making the most of the space and giving people different reasons to come in."
But despite the ambitions, neither is rushing to open another restaurant. After years of working from trailers, vans and small premises, they want to concentrate on getting Barnstaple exactly right and creating a business that provides stability for their staff as well as memorable experiences for customers.
"I think the next year will be about completing the other side of the building, offering the pizza workshops, building consistency and developing a really strong team," Rachel said. "We want people to be happy in their work and enjoy coming to work. For me, that's what success looks like, having a happy team."
Simon agrees that the measure of success is not simply the number of pizzas leaving the oven or the awards displayed on the wall. It is the sight of people enjoying themselves, sharing food and returning because they have had a wonderful experience.
"When you see people at a table having a great time, that's what success looks like for me," he said. "We want people to come in, feel welcome and enjoy themselves. That's really what all of this is about."
And to think it all started with a £200 pizza oven that nobody quite knew what to do with.
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