By RITA NERNEY, Breeze Summer Correspondent

On a typical weekday morning, Jim can be found at Bob's Place in Smithfield, greeting and sitting with guests, running errands, and keeping up the family environment at the little restaurant.

"It's a local hangout," Jim said of his restaurant. "You can find the same person in the same seat every day. We open at 6 a.m., but I'll let the early arrivals in at 5:30. I like the familiarity of the place."

Last July, James Wahl purchased Bob's Place from the previous owners who had run the restaurant for 14 years. Before that, their father ran it, so the restaurant had been in the same family for more than twenty years.

"The former owners still own this plaza," Jim said. "They moved to South Carolina, but they still come to visit. They're the best people you could rent from. They really want to see you do well."

Jim bought a house in North Providence just a few weeks ago, so he is new to the town.

He had been living in a condominium in Providence, but he loves the area he lives in now - right off of High Service Avenue.

"It's great here; it's quiet. It's different from Providence," he said. "But Rhode Island's small, and there are definitely similarities between the areas."

Jim also works in the real estate business with a partner. Their company, Shore Wahl, is based in Providence, but they buy and renovate houses in different areas.

"We've been flipping houses on Smith Street. So some in Providence, North Providence," he said. "But I've always worked with food."

Originally, when Jim decided he wanted to own a restaurant, he was going to buy something like a Subway.

"But you don't have as much control," he explained. "The corporation does everything, and you have no say in anything. I like the freedom over here (at Bob's Place)."

"Regular customers come here from Warwick, North Providence," Jim said.

"Whether they used to live in Smithfield, or simply just know about us, they like the atmosphere here. They know everyone will be here in a certain seat every day."

For example, he said that there is a group of female Providence police officers who live in North Providence who stop by often because their mothers live in Smithfield. So there is a connection that extends beyond the town limits.

Jim's wife just returned home after being stationed in Iraq for 14 months. She has been on active duty in the army for 12 years, and has served for 29 years in the Massachusetts National Guard.

"She's with the Milford Public Affairs. She does what you do," Jim told me. She was recently stationed in Baghdad working with the public affairs there.

Jim and his wife got married on her leave in February after being together for two years.

"She was home for two weeks, and it was a last-minute thing," Jim explained. "A lot of people didn't know about it."

As far as the name of the restaurant, Jim didn't want to lose the familiarity when he bought the place.

"I kept the name. Everyone who comes here knows what to expect. They know the waitresses," he said. "It's not a big place for change."

Jim said that he likes flipping houses. That's his main job.

"I like this a lot more though," he confessed. "If I didn't have to pay bills, I'd definitely stay here. My sister and my niece both work here. I'm trying to turn it into a family thing. That's what I like about this place. I like the family atmosphere. And that's what I want to see stay the same."