A ribbon-cutting and open house was held on Wednesday evening to celebrate the renovated Centralia House in downtown Centralia reopening on Thursday.
Owner Shannon Cooney has spent the past year since purchasing the building, completing storm damage repairs and completely replacing virtually everything else.
“It’s all brand-new furniture, a brand-new tile floor,” Cooney said. “The ceiling’s been repaired and there’s all new kitchen equipment. The kitchen was thoroughly gutted and cleaned and redone. We’re excited to let everybody see that. We’re keeping a lot of the historic menu and items, but we’re also going to add a little bit of our flair to that as well. We’ll have a weekly seasonal fresh catch seafood, and we’ll have other weekly specials that rotate throughout the year. It’ll still be in that New Orleans, Louisiana, Cajun Creole style, and we’re excited about that.”
Aaron Lawrence, who formerly ran Baldy’s BBQ and Catering, is excited to be the chef and be able to create some of the dishes. Alex Hyer will serve as the restaurant’s operations manager. She first joined Cooney as a part-time bartender at the winery in 2020 and has been involved in the renovation of the Centralia House.
The Centralia House will initially be open from five to ten on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. While reservations are not required, they are recommended.
Cooney says the Centralia House Restaurant dates back to 1854, the year after the city was incorporated. The current location is the second, after the hotel where the restaurant was originally located burned. Cooney is still digging for more information on the restaurant’s history.
Cooney says the other side of the restaurant will open as a sports bar within the next few weeks.
“The sporting house will be a place where you can watch the game. We’ll have all the Orphans games, all the local sports games, and we’re going to get a lot of TVs going. It’ll be a place to get a good cold beer and simple food. Family friendly, bring the kids and watch the game. Have some wings or some pizza. It’ll be a fun compliment to the fine dining that the fine dining that the Centralia House has to offer.”
The sports bar will be open from 11 am to 2 am seven days a week.
Cooney says he currently has 22 employees and will be hiring a few more as they begin operations.
Bar at the Reopened Centralia House. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Left to right: Bartender Arlynn, Operations Manager Alex Hyer, Chef Aaron Lorence, and Shannon Cooney.
