Small Wonders
Tiny Footprints,
Fewer Seats — the
Cool Bars Just ‘Round
the Corner Connect with
Guests in a Big Way
By Robert Plotkin
10 Nightclub & Bar Magazine | DECEMBER 2009
In 1981, producers Les Charles, Glen Charles and Jim Burrows were looking for a neighborhood bar in
Boston to model for a proposed television series. Dozens of bars, lounges
and pubs were considered and rejected.
The stream of places referred to them
by friends and associates was quickly
exhausted. Some establishments were
engaging, others raucous, but none had
that certain “it.”
Their fortune changed when out of
frustration they resorted to leafing through
the Boston phone book. Near the top of a
page was a small ad for the Bull & Finch.
What they found when they went there
was an English-style pub located under a
small neighborhood restaurant. While long
in the tooth, the pub had a warm, inviting
feel — the kind of place where it’s easy
to spend time, relax and share a pint with
friends. The trio had found their bar.
The Bull & Finch soon became
America’s favorite bar, the place “where
everybody knows your name and you’re
always glad you came.” While a dash
of luck and good timing helped, the
success of the bar on which the famed
television show “Cheers” was based
was actually the product of a precise and
orderly mind.
“When I started in this business, my
partner and I toured Europe studying
pubs and bars,” says Bull & Finch owner
Tom Kershaw. “We looked at scores of
places. Over there, pubs have real staying
power and don’t fall out of style or fashion. They have significance as meeting
places and are central to people’s social
lives. We incorporated what we learned
