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There are happy meals at the Snook Inn on Saturday nights. No, the restaurant isn’t serving food from the golden arches. It is the atmosphere — gorgeous weather on the bay, great food and entertainment that fits right in with the evening’s island feel and the customer’s mood. It’s just right.

Part of that ‘just right’ combination is entertainer Duncan Wheeler, who performs at the Snook on Thursday and Saturday nights and Tuesday afternoons, during season.

He is a one-man show — just him and his guitar. And he plays happy music. But make no mistake, Wheeler isn’t imposing. His soft, relaxed attitude is perfectly suited for people wanting an escape, whether they are from some dreary, snowbound place, or locals who just want to relax during a meal with friends.

In the chickee hut, the music wafts through the palm frond thatches and around the clientele.

“I play background music,” Wheeler explains, simply.

In addition to playing at Marco Island’s Snook Inn, Wheeler also plays at Bayside in Venetian Village on Friday and Sunday nights. Still, the Snook Inn is more like home to Wheeler, because it is where he got his start.

This, however, was not behind the guitar, but behind the bar. Originally from South Bend, Ind., Wheeler arrived on Marco via somewhere in Texas about 22 years ago. Since he already knew how to whip up a wicked drink, he settled into a steady job at the Snook Inn, and enjoyed it for the next 15 years.

But, he had, as he describes it, “a pipe dream” and wanted to be in a band when he turned 40. Sometime around that milestone year, Wheeler and some friends started making music together, practicing in the garage and having fun. Wheeler played drums.

“One day, one of them left a guitar at my house,” he continues, and the rest is history.

Wheeler is entirely self-taught, and after fooling around with the guitar for a time, one of those insightful friends made him get up on stage to play with them.

“It took about a year to learn that first song,” he says, “But after that it gets easier.”

Now a regular entertainer at the Snook, Wheeler claims “It’s because they were the first ones to let me play.”

Wheeler’s show is all about attitude. He feels that life has been good to him and it shows in his entertainment style. Training as a barkeep has equipped him with a wry sense of humor, and mix in a bit of talent and a modulated ego, and you get a concoction that is pleasing to just about everyone.

He describes his style loosely as a type of folk-rock. Welcomed by an upbeat mix of Jackson Brown, Toby Keith, Cat Stevens, John Denver, Buffalo Springfield, and a repertoire of songs many customers remember from high school, his show affords everyone a chance to reminisce, listen, sing along, or chat among themselves.

Never surprised to witness how many people remember every word to Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” the diners find the mood contagious and not overpowering, while at the bar, happy lime-sucking customers also imbibe in the mellow, familiar tunes.

Singing and strumming with a genuine smile on his face, Wheeler sports an earring, toe ring, bare feet and shorts. In spite of the six TVs in the chickee, it is impossible to miss the latest sport’s score or turn one’s attention in whatever direction the listener chooses. He feels that his form of entertainment is uncommon, saying, “You don’t hear a lot of people just playing guitar and singing,” as most have electronic accompaniment. Although, Wheeler uses a drum machine in some songs.

He tries to play what the customers ask for, but recognizes that his ability is limited by the single instrument and lone singer.

“I mean, I can’t do a five-piece harmony,” he says, but he has no problem satisfying the continual stream of requests for Jimmy Buffet songs, which he says is probably the most requested music.

In the dining room, customers Tobey and Edward Biocic enjoy Wheeler’s act.

“I know every song!” says Tobey. The couple drove from Naples to enjoy an evening at the Snook, and described Wheeler’s style as “a mix of everything.”

What is his musical philosophy?

“Well,” he muses, “I try not to annoy anybody.”

Now 52 years old, Wheeler has honed his craft, and developed relationships that enrich life. He and his wife Sandy have three kids, ages 12, 14 and 15.

Bartender and 30-year pal Tom Conroy has known Wheeler since both worked as bartenders in Dallas, a period Wheeler refers to as “the lost years.” Both landed at the Snook, and both are still there. Wheeler, however, only entertains now, and says, “I’ve worked here now for 22 years. They’re nice to me. Life is pretty good.”