Who we are
Retriever began at The Old Dog, built for the practical needs of a working independent pub.
The origin
Ross Pollock had tried most of the available solutions but still could not get what he needed to run The Old Dog. He asked Peter Sowrey to build an app for the pub. Peter built Retriever for Ross and the venue first.
They tried and tested it in The Old Dog’s real working environment in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. Seeing it work there, and liking the result, gave Peter and Ross the confidence to expand Retriever for other pubs, cafés and independent venues.
That origin still shapes the product: connect purchasing, invoices, suppliers, stock, recipes, people, guests and finance without replacing the systems a venue already relies on or the judgement of the people running it.
The founders
Peter began in hospitality, training as a chef and working in hotel operations with Mount Charlotte Hotels. In the early 1980s he moved into computing, beginning a career spanning technology, procurement and transformation.
That background brings working-venue understanding and systems clarity together in Retriever: practical operational detail, connected information and a clear view of what needs attention next.
Ross was formerly Chief Procurement Officer at Centrica. He later left corporate life to establish and run The Old Dog, an independent pub in the Peak District.
That move connects large-scale commercial and operational experience with the daily reality of independent hospitality: service, people, suppliers, stock and the decisions behind each trading day.
Why Retriever
Peter and Ross bring experience across hospitality, technology, procurement and transformation. Retriever combines that systems clarity with the daily reality of a working independent pub, without replacing the systems a venue already uses or the judgement of the people who know it best.
See how Retriever works