Hope Rises at HUBBUB

From the front desk of HUBBUB at the Historic Wilson Hotel, Rebecca Staebler can see the damaged 505 Tower where she started her business.

For more than two years, she has watched that building sit empty and damaged and waited, sometimes not so patiently, for the day when work could begin. But she was always committed to the building not just because it was her home, but because of the reason she bought it in the first place.

“When I started this business and bought the building,I was definitely committed to Centralia and downtown Centralia and seeing where we could take it,” Staebler said. “I felt like it was on the cusp of this transition … I felt like it was the beginning of the next revitalization phase.”

Staebler celebrated the 14th anniversary of HUBBUBon Nov. 15 with a low-key party at her current location, dubbed HUBBUB at the Wilson. The pop-up shop at 328 North Tower has always been meant as a temporary replacement for what regulars lovingly refer to simply as 505. Over glasses of wine and snacks, loyal, long-time shoppers talked openly about Staebler’s unique style and the place that she, and her store, occupy in their hearts.

“She’s an icon in the city and she always helps me find the perfect gift,” said Kelly Stanley, Centralia, who has been shopping at HUBBUB since it opened 14 years ago.

The anniversary party also had an air of hope about it. This year’s party was fairly small because next year, fingers crossed, they’ll be having a big party at 505 not only to celebrate 15 years of HUBBUB but the end to a very long and painful road for Staebler.

In May 2017, a drunk driver plowed into the building at 505 North Tower in the middle of the night, causing damage to the structural integrity of the shop portion of the building. Staebler’s living quarters in the back were unharmed, but she found herself suddenly without her shop. 

Staebler purchased the more than 100-year-old property in 2005 and said the accident felt like not just damage to bricks and mortar but a violation and the loss of a very dear friend. Friend Sue Verley was with Staebler when she first found the property and recalled Staebler had an instant connection with the location.

“One of the most poignant memories for us was walking into the building at 505. It was kind of dilapidated but we opened the back door and looked across the street and there was her father’s name on the old Weyerhaeuser building, George R. Staebler, and we knew it was meant to be,” Verley recalled.

For Staebler, watching her beloved building just across the street and not being able to do anything has been hard. Work has been slow and she acknowledged the frustration felt by locals who have been without a sidewalk on that stretch for so long and have wondered why the work has taken so long to begin. Staebler said rebuilding the shop was always her plan but the process has been agonizingly slow in part because of negotiations with insurance companies and issues with contractors. The age of the building also created complications that slowed things down. 

“It’s a 100 plus year-old building. When it’s done, it may have some things that look a little different because of the trauma to the building,” Staebler said. “Materials change. Methods change. They make brick buildings very differently today than they did 100 years ago.”

Work recently began at 505 by Johnson Construction and Staebler said if all goes well, she could reopen HUBBUB at its original location in the spring. But a lot of things have to happen before that day occurs. The first work being done is on the main wall of the building, which has to be repaired so that it is strong enough to hold up the roof and ceiling, which need to be reconnected to one another. After that work is done, the façade, windows and doors can be repaired. Only when all of that has been completed can Staebler start the process of putting the inside of the store back together.

“I’m quite hopeful the right team is in place and we’re moving forward with confidence toward the goal, which is getting me back in there and to get the building solid and whole again,” Staebler said.

And rebuilding HUBBUB at 505 is not just about bricks and mortar for Staebler. She said she moved back to her hometown of Centralia partially to be close to family and she feels perfectly suited to live in a town like Centralia. But she thoroughly believes in being the change she wants to see in the world, so her 14 years as a downtown business owner have seen her active in the Centralia Downtown Association, historic preservation commission and transit board. More recently, she was also elected to the Centralia City Council. She said feels excited for the future of the downtown and city and has dreams of how the new and improved HUBBUB can play a role in that.

“Getting back in (to 505), I’d really like to have the opportunity to mix things up a little bit and have more opportunities for community partnership, though I’m not sure what that’s going to look like,” Staebler said. “It’s like the anniversary party. Yes, it’s good to have a great sales day but what I love is when people interact with each other and meet friends and meet new friends. I want to actively find ways to make it a community gathering place.”