Cheers Bar Closing In Boston Due To Pandemic

Wow. The coronavirus has caused a lot of hardship for bars and restaurants here in Tampa Bay, but this bar closure in Boston is going to shock many all over the country.

CBS Boston reports that when they announce last call tonight at the Cheers at Faneuil Hall, they really mean it. They won't reopen. They say the owners asked for assistance from the property owner given all that's going on with the pandemic.  When doors close tonight, they'll close for good.

Now for clarity, this isn't the famous version of the Cheers bar you saw on TV. This location was opened primarily for tourists about 20 years ago. Faneuil Hall is a tourist trap with lots of little gift shops and a food hall. Most Bostonians avoid it at all costs. The Cheers bar was usually filled with visitors who just wanted to go where everybody knows your name. Spoiler - no one did. But they were always glad you came... so long as you paid your bill and tipped well.

In fact, the "real" Cheers bar isn't even really Cheers. The bar you saw on television is actually about a mile away near Boston Common (Boston's version of Central Park). It opened back in 1969 but it is actually called the Bull & Finch Pub. If you ever go in, you won't recognize it because they only used the exterior for that opening to the Cheers TV show.  It remains open.  [Source: CBS Boston]

Most of my adult life I've lived in the Boston area. I'd never move back. I love Florida. But I do have to go back a few times a year to eat. I mean... see family.