The Tavern
It was a dump, but it was our dump. It was widely known as the place where students, tourists and towns people would meet. It was fondly known as The Tavern.
The Tavern, sometimes called Sarge’s though no one knows why, opened in1954. It was a place for cheap beer and hearty breakfasts known to cure even the most severe hangover. It was home to some of the fastest cockroaches in town, but boy could they serve up a killer Burger.
I quickly discovered The Tavern when I moved to Charlottesville in 1967. It was located directly across Emmet Street from Leggett Barracks Road and if I was working the night shift, I’d frequently call The Tavern, order a cheeseburger and fries, and pick up the greasy bag for dinner. The smell of the grilled onions on the burger permeated the entire first floor of the store and often the floor managers sent out a posse to find the source.
“Not here,” I would say, then wolf down my chow in the storage room when they left.
The Tavern had great breakfasts with Fried Eggs over Easy on the grill, slabs of Salty Bacon on the side and some of the best Pecan Pancakes in the known world.
Shelly Gordon was the owner and manager of The Tavern for over 30 years and was one of the most popular guys in town. He knew everybody and everybody knew him. He was often seen manning the grill with a spatula in one hand and a cigarette in the other, but he made sure to greet all his customers and make them feel at home.
Ultimately, a spat with the owner, Clarabelle Wheeler, and spiraling rent increases were too much to overcome and Shelly shut ‘er down on Dec. 24, 2011.
But for 30 years, The Tavern was truly the place where students, tourists and towns people would meet
