Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
On March 9, exactly 10 months since the fire, American Legion Post 135’s two favorite local establishments were once again open for business. The accident – to which the cause has been found inconclusive – completely destroyed the kitchen and prep areas, as well as the men’s bathroom. The rest of the building, which is owned by The American Legion, suffered smoke damage. But the staff and Legionnaires did not sit idly by during the time it wasn’t open to the public; for the better part of the year they diligently worked on renovating the building to an even better state than before the fire.
Because the businesses don’t take too much of their time to advertise, most of its popularity has been the result of word of mouth. Since the beginning, both Betty Bombers and The American Legion bar – which has been open to the public only for the last eight years – have gathered a steady and loyal following. The variety of costumers seems to be growing as well.
“Every now and then it does close for a meeting night or a Legion birthday or something like that, which is kind of funny, but we work it out,” said Scott Williams, the bar manager at The Legion and the Commander of the Sons of The American Legion. “Then there’s SCAD students that come in. I’ve come in here before and there have been 150 suited military in here, which was kinda odd, but it does happen from time to time. Everybody’s really calm and relaxed. We don’t have any televisions or any like-crazy form of amusement in the bar; we try to keep it quiet.” The Legion, as it’s referred t0 locally, has been a local favorite for nearly a decade for its fairly priced drinks and relaxed atmosphere.
Williams graduated from SCAD with a degree in furniture design, and largely contributed to the restoration of the building. He built the custom bar at The Legion with 499 patches and five army seals, donated floor tiles to the front entrance and much more.
“We were kind of an underground hit for a while. We didn’t have a sign for our first year and a half that we were open… I don’t know, I think that kind of helped us. It’s got that kind of underground notion about it and that intrigues people,” said Seth Muscler, co-owner of Betty Bombers and classically trained chef. He continued to credit the quality of the food as the restaurant’s biggest promoter.
Part of Betty Bombers’ charm has to do with its atmosphere. The decor emulates a 40’s era diner with propaganda posters and large model bomber planes that once hung from the ceiling, but were lost in the fire. The theme is emphasized, and the servers that work the floor and counter – the Betties – wear era-appropriate clothing and hairstyles, but avoid the cheesiness associated with themed locations.
“It’s been great. I have loved it here since the beginning, I have evolved through a bunch of different outfits here, learning what’s time period appropriate, what people like and you know, what I can find at Goodwill,” said Mary K. Crumling, the front house manager and a former SCAD animation student. She went on to say that she’ll usually sport a victory roll, or tie her hair up in a bandana in homage to Rosie the Riveter.
Aside from the decor, the menu at Betty Bombers has welcomed a few changes as well.
“I have a lot of new staff now; we didn’t use to be so busy or open so many hours. Now we do more things, we have milkshakes and floats now. We used to didn’t have ice-cream at all,” said Crumling.
Along with the milkshakes, they’ve added a new burger called The Deep Burn: it uses a sauce mixed with hot Carolina Reaper peppers that they also offer as a sauce for their wings. Onion rings have also worked their way onto the menu.
The crowd remains as varied as it was before the fire; even more so, as it appears the number of patrons appears to have grown in the last year. Williams stated that during the hiatus, he would regularly be asked at least six times a day when they would reopen. This level of support has not gone unnoticed.
“I knew everyone likes this place, but it’s been really lovely to see everyone in the community really support us and just come back every time,” said Caitlyn Blair, the assistant manager at Betty Bomber’s. “They really missed us and it’s nice to be a part of that! I really like Savannah for that reason. It’s a really strong community like that and this place really shows me that too.”
Betty Bomber’s and The American Legion bar are open Monday through Saturday.
