I didn’t know that Boston was big on crab, somehow that fact registered only after seeing the little red crustacean pretty much everywhere around the city. BUT I did know that Cheers, a TV bar that kept the nation entertained for a decade and where everybody knew your name, was somewhere nearby.

Finding it was pretty easy. I did buy a Cheers post card just to remember the address, but no matter who you ask around town they’ll point you right to it. It’s like the Eiffel tower, everyone knows where it is, except you know, you don’t see it hovering above the city skyline.

I found it, walked down the stairs, and was strangely surprised when I noticed a different bar inside. “Inspired by” is what everyone will tell you at the bar. “The show was ‘Inspired by’ Cheers”, not based exactly on it. The complete interior of the bar was all a studio make believe located in none other than Hollywood of course.

So TV Cheers in reality isn’t Cheers at all, but that hasn’t stopped the bar from monetising on the Cheers fame. I sat at the end of the bar in Norm’s seat, there are Cheers photos on the wall, and there’s a Cheers gift shop in the building just above the bar. Located next to the gift shop is a small replica of the Cheers bar, but it’s just too small and doesn’t give off the Cheers vibe at all. Don’t get me wrong, I was still all smiles as soon as I noticed the Cheers sign from afar, and drinking a beer at a replica bar still felt pretty good. It’s just that I had recently finished watching the entire Cheers series and was focusing on all the details that simply weren’t anywhere to be seen.