Glenda Brewer first set foot in the Wagon Wheel Tavern when she was in the fifth grade.
In those days she would munch a hot dog and play pinball while her dad relaxed after work with a cold beer and the tavern's regulars.
Many of those customers still frequent the new Wagon Wheel location, she said.
The tavern Brewer bought two years ago isn't physically the same one she went to with her dad. The original East Buena Vista Avenue building burned in the late 1960s.
The Wagon Wheel then rolled across the street into its current building, where it continues to be a stopping point for people looking to unwind after a hard day's work.
The clientele and the atmosphere make it exactly the same tavern she remembers from her youth.
"(It had) a friendly atmosphere," she said. "Just quaint, cozy."
Last week, Brewer named off a few of her regulars by name and the time of day she expected them to drop by.
"There's just people that come in every day. It's North Augusta's equivalent of Cheers ," she said.
True to the show's theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name ," Brewer took a quick moment to call out a greeting, by name, to one of her daily customers as he seated himself at the long bar at the back of the tavern.
She said many people have told her they feel safe at the Wagon Wheel.
"I've never had any fights," she said.
The Wagon Wheel serves wine and beer.
Customers can also order hamburgers, hot dogs and french fries.
One day, Brewer would like to expand the kitchen to offer a full menu, but she said renovations are costly and the building needs a lot of other updates first.
For now, she is trying to come up with ideas to attract a younger crowd without alienating her longtime regulars.
"I want a younger crowd to keep it going," she said.
The Wagon Wheel is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until midnight or later, depending on the crowd at closing time, Brewer said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
THE WAGON WHEEL TAVERN
Address: 732 E. Buena Vista Ave.
Phone: (803) 279-4446
Hours: 10 a.m. until midnight, Monday through Saturday
