The building that housed Mary McCrank's restaurant recently was bought by Chehalis attorney John McKerricher. McKerricher hopes to turn it into an events center with the possibility of it being open in early December.
John McKerricher, who recently purchased the Mary McCrank's building on Jackson Highway, shows the bar area of the former restaurant on Wednesday afternoon south of Chehalis.
John McKerricher, who recently purchased the Mary McCrank's building on Jackson Highway, points to what he hopes the be a reception area in the new event center on Wednesday afternoon south of Chehalis.
A long-time staple of the Chehalis area restaurant scene and a Lewis County landmark has been purchased by a new buyer and will become an events center.
Mary McCrank’s, the historic property south of Chehalis on Jackson Highway, was purchased by former Chehalis attorney John McKerricher through a company registered in his name called Creekside Events LLC.
McKerricher said he plans to turn the building into a space to host weddings, company gatherings, holiday parties and other events. He retired from his law practice earlier this year.
“I was looking for something to spend some time on,” he said.
His children are either already married or soon to be married, he said. After experiencing all the facets of a planning a wedding, he thought the McCrank’s building would be an ideal location for those and other events.
“This is unique in that it’s big enough so that we can hold up to 200,” he said.
Creekside, as the building will now be called, will most likely rely on outside catering to handle food for the events, but in-house cooking isn’t outside of the realm of possibilities, McKerricher said.
State records show McKerricher filed for incorporation on Oct. 2 and he made the purchase on Oct. 6. He plans to add a gazebo to the property, do some redecoration to the interior and add a bridal room.
The plan is to have the building open by Dec. 1, in time for holiday events and wedding bookings for the next and following summers.
The building at 2923 Jackson Highway was sold by the Plano, Texas-based LNV Corp. for $250,000.
That company purchased it in May 2014 for $325,000, the minimum auction bid.
Prior to LNV, the property was owned by Gerhard and Jeri Schopp starting in 1998. The two ran the business as Mary McCrank’s until they rebranded it as Gerhard’s Steakhouse in 2012. The move was an attempt bring a higher level of dining to Chehalis. The business failed and was closed in May 2013.
“Two of our kids worked there as waiters,” McKerricher said.
The original Mary McCrank bought the business in 1935 and operated it as the Shamrock Inn before changing the name to her own.
For decades the business was an iconic roadhouse on the drive between Seattle and Portland in the days before the Interstate system was built.
The business became a local staple of a wide variety of country-style cooking.
