The Wasta Bar hosted an open house this past weekend. A whole barbecued pig was the entreé for the meal.

Wasta Bar re-opens for business

A place where friends meet!
With more than 40 years of bartending experience, Vicki James knows a thing or two about the industry. 
 
So when the Cheyenne, Wyo., native saw the Wasta Bar, she realized its potential if it were in the right hands.
 
James is a fairly new addition to the Wasta community. After living in Alaska for the past 40 years, she followed her family south to resettle in South Dakota. James obtained a house in Wasta in July 2016, and quickly got to work becoming part of the community.
 
James was working in Wall when the opportunity arose to lease the Wasta Bar. She officially took the reins of the establishment that following October, and re-opened the bar Nov. 9, 2016. 
 
Under her leadership, the Wasta Bar has been remodeled and redecorated. It has also, in some respects, been repurposed. Instead of being merely a place for Wasta residents to purchase alcoholic beverages, James hopes that the bar will truly become “a place where friends meet,” James said. “I want people to be able to bring their kids, their dogs, to just sit and talk,” she added.
 
Toward that purpose, James has amended the traditional barroom menu of fried foods to include cheeseburgers during the week, and steaks cooked to order Friday and Saturday evenings. With the help of other Wasta residents, she also used materials from around Wasta to redecorate the bar. 
 
In an effort to make members of the Wasta community feel that they have ownership in the Wasta Bar, and in order for it to maintain a community atmosphere, James invited area ranchers to bring their branding irons and leave their mark on the newly remodeled walls of the bar. 
 
Though she is a new addition to the town, James already feels an affinity for the town and its residents, and plans to bring a greater sense of community to the area through her establishment. 
 
“I love Wasta – it’s a cute little town,” James said.

The Pioneer Review

221 E. Oak Street
Philip, SD 57567
Telephone: (605) 859-2516
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