Iconic West End has new owner

West End Tavern's new owner does not plan to change anything at the 70-plus-year-old restaurant-bar. "I don't want to change anything. This place is iconic. It's amazing," said owner Shawnda Lehman. As manager of West End Tavern for nearly 13 years before succeeding Larry Hershey as owner in September, Lehman saw firsthand the venue's magic. She praises its "melting pot" culture of customers from all walks of life and its multi-generational reach. People not only frequent West End Tavern, but somehow the tavern moves into their hearts. It has been the place where men get down on a knee to propose to their sweethearts, then the happy couple's place to visit on their wedding day; then a place to come to show off their newborn baby. Then 21 years later, that former child comes in to enjoy the people and the spirit of West End Tavern. A key to the West End Tavern's success is its staff, Lehman said. "My bartenders are amazing. I have the most incredible staff. They've been here, most of them very long. The ones that haven't, we form a family," Lehman said. "Then that's projected to my customers, where they get to feel that energy." Owning her own bar has been a longtime dream for Lehman. She was strongly influenced by one of her early jobs — at Oiler Pizza Pub, formerly on South Main Street — and her bosses there, owners Tom and Josie Jeffire. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be me," Lehman said. She is grateful to Tom Jeffire. "He pushed me," she said. Lehman went on to work at bars in Columbus; Greenville, North Carolina; and the Huddle Inn and Wesley's in Findlay, working at both at the same time. She was then scouted for a position at Thirsty's, a brand-new bar at the time in Beaverdam, as head bartender then general manager. She also held a position at the Bluffton Pub.