Regulars call it Groton's own "Cheers," a warm and cozy neighborhood bar where everybody knows your name and everyone is welcome and accepted.

Sneekers Cafe, at 568 Poquonnock Road in Main's Plaza, what its owners call an "ugly little strip mall," opened as a bar in 1984 but has transformed itself over the decades into "a restaurant in a bar."

Almost three decades ago, when friends Rhonda Russell and Annie Porte decided it was time to stop working for other barkeeps and open a place of their own, the focus was primarily on serving alcohol. Food was an afterthought. But times and attitudes about imbibing have changed, and so has Sneekers.

Most evenings and weekends now the place is packed with diners. Sneekers is still a bar, but ask anyone who's been there recently and they'll talk about the food.

"They're 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives' material," says Martin McKinney of Uncasville, "without getting credit for it."

McKinney is making reference to the Food Network show where host Guy Fieri visits hole-in-the-wall places that serve mouth-watering dishes.

"The food is just great," he says, explaining he stumbled upon Sneekers about a decade ago and has been taking friends and customers there ever since.

"I'm very comfortable here," said a middle-aged woman who was dining alone on a recent Friday night. "The food is so good and the prices so reasonable. I'm OK about coming in by myself."

She was having the fish and chips.

Sneekers' owners say the business has grown up with them. Russell is now Rhonda Dempsey and she and Porte are in their 50s now, not their 20s.

"We always made a conscious decision to cater to our age group," says Dempsey.

"But now we're not 26, we're 56," says Porte.

The two women met more than 30 years ago when working for other establishments and have remained good friends, good business partners, and operators of a successful business.

Dempsey says they treat their business relationship like a marriage.

"We try not to fight over little things. We stand up for what

we do want," she says. "And we understand that each brings certain strengths to the business that the other doesn't have."

Without each other, Sneekers would be something else entirely, Dempsey says.

Instead, white-haired seniors dine on blackened cod while 20-somethings drink beers and snack on sweet potato fries.

"It's very much about the food," says Deb Bergeron, who has been a regular for about 15 years. "For the most part, people go in and have a meal. But there's also a wonderful sense of community and camaraderie down there. It's the kind of place where you can go in alone, have some food and a glass of wine, and pretty soon you are part of the conversation.

"It's just so welcoming and warm," she said.

Either Porte or Dempsey is always there, making rounds to visit with customers and ensure that everything is OK.

"This is a hard business," says Dempsey, acknowledging that early on it was a party every night and food wasn't a priority.

But when the bar business started to change, Porte and Dempsey got serious about food.

They hired cooks, started to offer daily specials, and expanded the menu and hours that food was served.

The wicked chicken is a favorite, but there are many others, including the cobb salad, burgers, Gorgonzola red pepper sirloin and crunchy garlic chicken.

"It's all about the food now," says Bob Beamon, a regular as long as Sneekers has been open. It's Groton's own 'Cheers,' the food is good, and everyone knows who you are here," he says.

Beamon is not the only one to liken Sneekers to the 1980s television comedy "Cheers," about regulars in a Boston bar.

But at Sneekers it's not just a comedy. Retired Groton schoolteacher Jude Ebbinghaus says the place is legendary for its generosity, hosting numerous benefits for all kinds of causes.

She was personally touched when her daughter's fiance was diagnosed with cancer and Sneekers hosted a benefit to help pay his expenses.

"They were just so supportive," she says.

There is entertainment most nights at Sneekers (check their website for the schedule) and daily specials on the menu.

But don't be deterred when you get to the plaza where they are located.

"It's a little bit of a joke with my out-of-town friends," says Bergeron. "I tell them, 'Don't be scared when we pull into the parking lot, it's warm and cozy inside.'"