The Gibson House Restaurant in downtown Centralia has been shuttered for nearly two years, but the space inside won’t be unoccupied for much longer, The Chronicle has learned.
Owners of O’Blarney’s Irish Pub in Olympia are finalizing a lease agreement with building owner Lee Ingrim in order to open a second location inside 7,200 square feet at 221 N. Tower Ave. possibly by the end of October, said managing partner Mike Heelan. O’Blarney’s, which has existed in Olympia for 26 years, will offer a restaurant and sports bar experience.
“The facility has such a storied history and we just fell in love with it,” Heelan told The Chronicle by phone Tuesday. “It’s a great building, it’s in great shape and it’s in a great area — it’s an opportunity we were glad to take advantage of.”
Financial details were not disclosed as the lease agreement has not been completed yet.
The Gibson House has closed twice in the past five years, most recently in late 2009. The building has been for lease ever since. The first closure in May 2006 was preceded by a bankruptcy announcement by then-owners Penny and Alan McWain. Aside from being a restaurant, upper floors of the building offered a 5,270-square-foot ballroom and a conference room measuring 1,400 square feet.
Heelan says this time around, the restaurant will offer most of O’Blarney’s current menu, eschewing higher-priced food items in an effort to attract more people.
“Part of it will have a restaurant, and we’ll have another sports bar-type area with a bunch of TVs,” Heelan said. “Hopefully we can turn it into a good gathering place.”
Neighboring business owners largely reacted positively to the news, saying the downtown core of Centralia needs more tenants in order to remain an economically viable destination.
At Pacific Galleries Antique Mall Tuesday late morning, manager Sharon Boynton helped customers and expressed her excitement at soon seeing the restaurant on the corner of Tower Avenue and Magnolia Street open back up.
“We were always recommending the Gibson to customers who would come here from out of town to shop, and we would also get a lot of the lunchtime crowd down here too,” Boynton said. “This is a destination area and it’s necessary that we give people a variety of choices on where to shop, eat, drink, you name it.”
Heelan said he hopes to be a part of a resurgence in downtown Centralia, and his business opening comes at a time two other storefronts along Tower Avenue one block north continue to see construction and renovation.
“A rising tide floats all boats, so if we can help the neighboring businesses and bring some people downtown, we’ll do it,” Heelan said. “I think our brand name has a little bit of leverage down there.”
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Christopher Brewer: (360) 807-8235
