BY JACKIE FENDER for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 11/6/2026
Ron Swarner reflects on a decade of craft beer, sandwiches, community, and creating a neighborhood gathering place in Proctor.
If you’re a person of a certain age, sitcom TV set certain standards for us. Like, what does the idyllic dad look like (this is a divisive one), how do you deliver a well-timed quip, and where is the place where everyone knows your name? Some establishments never quite fit in. Others open their doors and feel like home. When a spot is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in a charming pocket neighborhood like Proctor, that’s a good sign they’re doing something right — and Peaks & Pints is officially celebrating its 10-year anniversary!
Full disclosure, Peaks & Pints was opened by none other than the Weekly Volcano’s founding father, Ron Swarner, in partnership with the brothers Robby and Justin Peterson, owners of the iconic Hilltop staple, Eleven Eleven. But my affinity for the establishment isn’t solely based on my utmost respect for Mr. Swarner and his work in the community, but bolstered by the fact that Peaks & Pints offers great digs, delectable sandwiches, and an unmatched selection of canned and bottled beers to enjoy in-house or take home for later.
As we celebrate a decade of this neighborhood gem, Ron was kind enough to take a little time to answer a few questions.
Weekly Volcano: Let’s start from the beginning: What inspired the Peaks & Pints name?
Ron Swarner: I wanted a name that captured two things I love about living in the Pacific Northwest: the mountains and the beer. Peaks & Pints sounded like a place where those two worlds could meet, where somebody could finish a hike, walk in from a rainy Tacoma sidewalk, or simply escape a particularly unpleasant Tuesday, and find something wonderful waiting in a glass. We weren’t building another sports bar. We were building a mountain lodge in the middle of Proctor.
WV: How did the partnership first form with the Peterson brothers?
RS: When the idea for Peaks & Pints began taking shape, I knew exactly who I wanted beside me. Eighteen months before we opened, I asked the Peterson brothers to join me in building another gathering place for the city we’d all called home our entire lives.
Our backgrounds complemented one another. The Petersons knew how to build places people wanted to visit. I knew how to tell stories about why those places mattered. We shared a belief that a neighborhood bar could be more than a transaction involving a beverage. It could become part of the neighborhood’s identity.
When we finally unlocked the doors at 4 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2016, Tacoma was ready. The community embraced us immediately, and we paid off our debt in less than six months. That’s not a story about three guys being geniuses. That’s a story about Tacoma showing up.
WV: Why sandwiches and beer?
RS: We wanted people to stay a while. Great craft beer deserves great food, but we didn’t want the food to feel like an afterthought or the restaurant to feel like a formal dining experience. Sandwiches made perfect sense, especially with Robby and Justin involved.
A beautifully constructed sandwich and a thoughtfully chosen beer can be a glorious little partnership. Add soup, a comfortable room, and somebody you enjoy talking to, and suddenly an ordinary afternoon has become an occasion.
WV: What has surprised you most about restaurant ownership and operations? On the flip side, what has been completely unsurprising?
RS: The biggest surprise has been how deeply people make a place their own. We opened a business, but Tacoma turned it into a living room. People have celebrated birthdays, new jobs, weddings, and personal victories here. They’ve also come through the doors during difficult stretches, looking for a familiar face and a little reassurance that the world still contains good beer and decent humans.
You can design a room, select 28 taps, and write a business plan. You cannot manufacture that kind of connection.
WV: What is a dish, event or activity that regulars most look forward to?
RS: Our annual Tournament of Beer turns 64 breweries into a gloriously unnecessary sporting event, with Tacoma voting its favorites through a bracket until one brewery survives the democratic chaos. Fresh Hoptoberfest has become another beloved tradition, celebrating fresh-hop beers and Oktoberfest season together every September.
And then there are the sandwiches. We were honored to earn second place for salads and third place for sandwiches in the Tacoma News Tribune’s 2026 Best of Pierce County awards.
WV: You have really cool decor. Is there any one piece with a funny story or lore behind it?
RS: I love the history beneath everyone’s elbows. Our bar tops and tabletops were fashioned from reclaimed wood from the old Nalley Valley pickle barrels. There’s something wonderfully Tacoma about that: wood that once belonged to the city’s industrial food history now supporting pints of locally brewed beer and conversations that can last for hours.
WV: Ten years behind you. What do you hope to do in the next ten?
RS: Keep earning our place in the neighborhood.
That sounds simple, but I think it’s the most important ambition we could have. We want to keep introducing people to remarkable breweries and cideries, supporting independent producers, making excellent food, collaborating with friends and neighbors, and creating reasons for Tacoma to gather.
WV: What is your favorite bite and brew combo(s)?
RS: This is the question that could start an argument in our own kitchen. I love the way a bright, hop-forward IPA cuts through the richness of a hearty sandwich, particularly one with turkey, goat cheese, arugula, red onion, tomato, spicy mayo, and enough personality to require both hands and several napkins. We call it The Sherpa.
But my favorite pairing might be whatever our kitchen is excited about that day with a beer I’ve never tried before. After all these years, the thrill of discovering something new hasn’t disappeared. That’s one of the reasons I’m still doing this.
WV: Anything you want to add?
RS: The friendships. The loyalty. The laughter. The support during difficult times. The willingness to show up for ridiculous beer tournaments, fresh-hop celebrations, charity events, and whatever else we dreamed up.
Our anniversary artwork from Foster’s Creative features a little living room outside Peaks & Pints. It’s a simple image that captures something we’ve spent a decade learning: the best gathering places aren’t really defined by their furniture or their beer lists. They’re defined by the people who fill them.
Ten years. Still your living room. Thank you, Tacoma.
