At the core of Florence's nightlife is Apple Annie's

If you’ve ever been out in Florence, chances are you’ve met Annie.

She’s the most popular girl in town, and has been so for more than 25 years.

Her personality never changes, but a few nips and tucks here and there have given her a slightly more modern look in recent years.

Still not familiar? Well maybe you know her by her nickname ... Apple Annie’s.

Apple Annie’s has been a Florence staple since 1984 when Larry Correll bought the beer shop formerly known as Wholesale Beverages more than 25 years ago. Correll changed the name to Apple Annie’s Deli & Pub and doubled the size of the building with the addition of a bar side.

Shane Brannon and Robbie Winstead bought Apple Annie’s from Correll in 2004. Brannon had worked as a bartender at Apple Annie’s for several years and was excited when the chance to move from behind the bar to the owner’s office arose.

“I started bartending here while I was finishing up college at Francis Marion,” Brannon, a Maryland native, said. “My granddad owned a bar and drive through liquor store up in Maryland, so I thought it would be nice to carry on the family tradition.”

Brannon said he had no desire to make any major changes at Apple Annie’s. What worked in the past, he believed, would work in the future.

“Larry and I were pretty close, and when we got to talking about the whole idea of buying the place, we knew we were going to pretty much stick to the way things had been,” Brannon said.

“We never wanted to take the authenticity out of this place. The beer has always been cold, the food’s always been awesome, and we’ve got the best live music around. Those are the three ingredients you need for a perfect bar, in my opinion,” Brannon said. “So we’ve kept all that in place, but we’ve steadily put in a few modern touches — a new heating and air unit, flatscreen TVs, some bathroom renovations.”

The latest modern touch is a heated, non-smoking deck area for the colder months, complete with its own outdoor bar. The project began about several months ago, and the final touches, including a new door that leads from the deck to the deli side, went in last week.

“We’ve been working on it for six or eight months, and it’s finally where we want it to be,” Brannon said. “The deck’s always crowded when it’s warm out, but now this will allow us to use that area in the colder months. Then, when spring comes, the plastic will come off, and it will be business as usual on the deck.”

Brannon said eventually, he’d like to rent out the heated deck for private parties.

Next on the list of modern touches is a kitchen upgrade, Brannon said. He and his staff also are in the process of tweaking the menu, something Brannon said he likes to do on a regular basis to keep things fresh.

Despite the changes, Brannon said what’s brought people to Apple Annie’s for years remains the same — good friends, good drinks and great live entertainment.

“That’ll never change,” Brannon said. “There’s not much turnover here. We have a lot of people that have been working here 10 years. It’s the hometown place to be. You need that local watering hole. Someplace where everybody meets up without having to actually call each other (because) somewhere along the night, you’re going to run into each other here.”