PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2023

Owner Ashley Harper smiles inside Billy’s Tap in Canton. The oldest saloon in town, Billy’s offers a menu, atmosphere and meeting room that help draw visitors to Canton and boost the local economy

‘I THOUGHT IT WAS A CHICAGO BAR’

as a big-city bistro. Tracy Anderson, who makes a 45-minute round trip from nearby St. David at least once a week, said Billy’s has come a long way under Harper’s flourishes. “The first time I walked in here, I thought it was a Chicago bar,” said Anderson, 61, munching on a lunchtime burger. “She just has good design taste and good ideas.” Perhaps the best idea came in 2008, when Harper installed a kitchen, a first for Billy’s, allowing the business to serve lunches that now fill the place daily. And two years ago, she expanded the saloon to create a wide-open meeting room that doubles as dining area for Wednesday and Thursday suppers. The refashioned Billy’s has been a game-changer for Canton, said tourism director Sampson, “What Billy’s Tap means to the area is really indescribable,” Sampson said. “Billy’s is truly one of the best places to be for its unique build-your-own burgers and pizza nights, unique and delicious lunch menu, continual great selection of beer on tap, and its authentic atmosphere.” Further, Sampson lauds Billy’s Tap for routinely helping with community AN ‘INDESCRIBABLE’ COMMUNITY ASSET

events, such as fundraisers for Canton Main Street and Red Dog Cystic Fibrosis. Those endeavors helped prompt the Canton Area Chamber of Commerce to name Harper its 2017 Businessperson of the Year. For efforts inside and outside Billy’s, Harper is quick to credit her staff. She also thanks her husband B.J. Harper, a professional electrician whose behind the-scenes handiwork keeps the pub humming. “Without him, I wouldn’t be able to make it,” she said. After 75-plus years, the future looks bright for Billy’s Tap, though Harper sometimes wonders who eventually will take over. “I don’t have any children,” she said. “I would like it to continue in our family. But I’m not sure that will be an option. … I will do this as long as I can. But as far as the future, I hope whoever takes it over keeps this tradition going, keeps the name the same. “I hope it sticks around for 75 more years. Or hundreds.”

As the 21st century dawned, Harper wondered about the family business. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, she had been putting her marketing degree to use in the corporate world. But every time she passed Billy’s, she wondered if it could limp along much longer without reinvestment and resuscitation. “It wasn’t going well,” she said. “I don’t think it would’ve survived.” Two decades ago, Harper left her white-collar job and took over Billy’s Tap. She knew a little about the bar business, from her parents’ ownership of the saloon. But their greatest lesson came via working hard over the years. “I learned quite a bit from them,” Harper said. “I have a good work ethic, and I learned that from them.” But she also had some ideas of her own, adding new windows, lighting, coolers, tables, stools and signage. As a nod to Billy’s history, she left untouched the exposed brick and pressed-tin ceiling. “It’s been a work in progress,” Harper said. “It’s taken a while.” The end result is a polished bar — you can order anything from a can of Old Milwaukee Light to drafts of trendy IPAs — that looks as inviting and stylish

Phil Luciano is a senior writer/columnist for Peoria Magazine and content contributor to public television station WTVP. He can be reached at phil.luciano@wtvp.org

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