The two owned a building in Beacon Hill, Hampshire House, and wanted to find a use for the basement which at the time was inefficiently used as just storage.

[5][1] A fateful moment came in 1981 when writers Glen and Les Charles and producer James Burrows visited Boston seeking an authentic local bar to use for the TV show that would become Cheers.

Kershaw, happy to get free advertising, accepted a fee of one dollar for rights to use the exterior image of the property in Cheers.

[2] On May 20, 1993, the night of Cheers series finale, Tom Kershaw held a large party outside of the bar to commemorate the event.

Many people gathered outside the bar, and watched the finale on two large TV screens specially set up for the event.

At some point, the bar expanded upward into Hampshire House, with a replica of the California set used for people expecting the version from television.