AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Whether you sat down to enjoy a beer or his famous burgers and steaks, the owner of a local restaurant and pool hall touched people from all walks of life, even celebrities.

Bill Watkins spent his childhood in the very place he would later own. He died Tuesday and his family told us despite it all, the show will go on doing what the man who ran the place for decades loved.

“Fair prices, really good food and try to treat everybody like they’re somebody,” said Sandi, Bill’s wife.

It’s a simple recipe that’s worked since the 1970s.

She recalled, “He put the first grill in because before that they only sold hotdogs.”

And when it comes to food, it’s really not that hard at all.

“We make it fresh everyday,” she said while preparing chopped vegetables and seasoning steaks for the day.

Add some salt and pepper to steaks and burgers from Lanier’s Meat Market and you’ve got yourself a meal at The Sports Center. And while Sandi Watkins knows a person’s order just by looking at them, her husband Bill got to know them a different way.

“His favorite thing was to hold court,” Sandi smiled.

The Watkins family said Bill talked to everyone over beer.

“He was comfortable in any world. He could go to the country club and be fine, he could go to the dice game in the alley and be fine, he could go to Augusta National and be fine. He always told me if you act like you belong, people won’t question you being there,” his son Travis Watkins said.

Born in Virginia to a large family, they moved to Augusta when Bill was in the third grade. And at the age of 12, the Sports Center became his home away from home.

“He can come in here and make money racking balls and playing pool,” she told us.

And while it seems like a casual place to hang out, it’s home to many A-listers, especially during Masters week. And Bill, a former Augusta National Golf Club caddie, loved the sport. But it was also a place for people from all walks of life.

“When everything was downtown you would see federal judges, [the] sheriff, and drug dealers at the same bar together eating lunch,” said Travis Watkins.

In the community, the family said Bill enjoyed playing Santa Claus since he resembled jolly old Saint Nick and he loved children, especially his own.

“His famous quote is he couldn’t pick his dad out of a police line up. He never met him. So, he was the exact opposite of that,” Travis said.

Memories continue to be made as people near and far tap in to The Sports Center, reflecting about Bill.

“His legacy is his family,” said Sandi.

As the family makes final preparations amid Masters week they said it was important to stay open. It’s good they did because people around the country stopped in on Wednesday.