WEST ASHLEY — A pair of bar owners and a community on the edge of their stools finally got their long-awaited answer to what was locked inside an old iron safe.

Nothing.

But nobody inside Gene’s Haufbrau in the heart of Avondale seemed to care.

After decades of not knowing what was in the heavy locked box, co-owners Liam Tyrrell and Jason Stalker threw a special party to open it in front of any patrons who were just as curious. They had no idea their beloved bar would be packed to the gills on a Thursday night with newcomers and regulars dating back to the 1980s sharing pints with apt names like “Smash and Grab” and “Lock Pick", as well as memories.

“We taught our son how to play pool here,” Shannon Gallo, joined by her husband, said at the event Oct. 23.

“Our dad used to own the bar,

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