Back in 2016, after Herold “Buddy” Abel Jr. of San Marcos died at the age of 76, Erin Abel wrote a touching obituary about her father, a welder by trade. Naturally, she provided details for his visitation and funeral services, but added: “Buddy’s feelings would not be hurt if no one showed up to the previously mentioned events, but he would definitely insist everyone ‘come drink a beer’ to celebrate his life immediately afterwards at Riley’s Tavern.”“Buddy was a fixture,” says Joel Hofmann, owner of Riley’s Tavern, an antique bar and honky-tonk that’s been inconveniently located in the woods of Hunter, between New Braunfels and San Marcos, for nine decades. Hofmann recalls Abel standing at the end of the bar, right inside the door—part greeter,…The post At 90, Riley’s Tavern Is Filled With Smoke, Music, and History appeared first on Texas Monthly.