86’d on Tower: Downtown Centralia entrepreneurs team up to open a new hole-in-the-wall bar

By Owen Sexton / [email protected]

Looking for a new place in downtown Centralia to grab a beer, wine or cider and take a break from shopping?

86’d on Tower, a new hole-in-the-wall bar sandwiched between Saddle Bum Western Store and the Urban Farmgirl Market, opened last week at 328 N. Tower Ave.

86’d on Tower is the brainchild of Urban Farmgirl Market owner Laura Duthie and Saddle Bum owner Jeannie Gluck.

Gluck has been renting the space the bar now occupies since she first opened Saddle Bum last summer.

“It’s been empty this whole time and I was trying to figure out what to do with it and always thinking, ‘How nice would a bar be?’” Gluck said. “Thank God Laura has the same vision as me.”

“The idea is to offer something new to our customers,” Duthie added. “We used to get a lot of requests like, ‘Oh, I’d just like to have some wine, a beer and a shop.’ So it was mainly question-oriented and listening to what people were looking for.”

With Urban Farmgirl offering shoppers a selection of Western-themed gifts and furniture and Saddle Bum offering their Western-style clothing, the stores fit together nicely, but that’s not the only thing Duthie and Gluck have in common.

86’d on Tower’s name came from the fact that both of their addresses end in 86, which also happens to be the term used for people who have been kicked out of a bar.

“It was the perfect collaborative name for this…And it also happened to be a really cute little bar name,” Gluck said.

And while they didn’t have to speak to anyone during the opening last weekend, they acknowledged that this will be a situation they will eventually have to deal with, as is the case with all bars.

“It could happen. Our friends will probably be the first,” Gluck joked.

She and Duthie are also trying to encourage shoppers and diners in downtown Centralia to explore further north on Tower Avenue.

“It’s not a fight, but how do we invite them? What’s another reason for them to come shop with us?” Duthie said. Seating inside is limited, but there is a small patio. The bar can serve about fifteen people at the same time, the business reported on Facebook last week.

The wooden patio tables and bar tops are handmade by the husbands of Duthie and Gluck.

If a potential patron is unable to secure a seat during a visit to 86’d on Tower, he or she can receive a wooden token worth $1 off a drink when they return later.

Given the small size of 86’d Tower and the fact that the space was not previously a bar, there are no sanitary facilities or beer taps available. What Duthie and Gluck do offer their customers is a selection of locally produced wines and ciders, along with bottled beer from Dick’s Brewing Company.

“We are a little limited. We can’t make liquor because we don’t have a dishwasher and we can’t eat, so liquor is out of the question,” Duthie said.

They hope to be the bar where visitors in downtown Centralia start before heading to major downtown attractions like the Tower Tavern, O’Blarney’s at the Gibson House and the McMenamins Olympic Club.

Currently the bar is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. The hours pass smoothly while Duthie and Gluck figure out what the customers are looking for.

The original plan was to keep the bar open during Urban Farmgirl and Saddle Bum’s normal shopping hours.

“But after opening we realized that demand was very good, so it gives us more opportunities to be open more days and hours,” Gluck said.

Ultimately, they plan to be open Wednesday through Saturday as spring turns to summer. They hope to have the bar open from 11:30 a.m. to about 8 p.m

“We’re already saying 11:30 until we get slow,” Gluck said.

“On opening night we didn’t leave here until 11 p.m.,” Duthie added. “… We’re definitely not going to be the 2 o’clock bar.”

For more information, follow 86’d on Tower on Facebook at https://bit.ly/4aSoq6R.