An established staple in downtown Chehalis, The Shire Bar & Bistro officially celebrated its 20th anniversary last week and will be donating a portion of the week’s profits to the Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County.
Originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, Shire owner Joel Wall moved to Portland in the early 1990s and came to Chehalis in 1997 to manage the McMenamins Olympic Club Theater, which he did for six years. Then, in February 2003, Wall opened up the Shire Bar & Bistro in downtown Chehalis.
When he initially opened, Wall said he never envisioned sustained success, especially in a smaller community such as Chehalis.
“It’s kind of crazy we’ve made it this long. We’re proud of it. Especially in a small community where we maybe don’t have the metropolis to support the business,” Wall said.
Wall stated the tight-knit community atmosphere of Chehalis helped make up for the lack of a large population of potential patrons.
It was sense of community and coming together that drove Wall to decide to donate a portion of profits to the Boys & Girls Club, but it wasn’t the only reason he chose the nonprofit organization.
“I decided that because we’re in such a supportive community, this would be the perfect time to give back. I chose the Boys & Girls Club because it’s an organization I feel really strongly about,” said Wall, later adding, “I was a part of (the club) as a child. I know all of the good things that organization does for the youth of the community. And not just the youth, really. I grew up in a single-parent household and so there was a certain peace of mind that my mom had that her kids were in a safe place. They were growing. They were learning. They were active.”
The Shire eatery and bar features a large back dining hall with mahogany furnishings sometimes reserved for events or wedding receptions, and a menu featuring Americana cuisine with some fusion thrown in, such as Cajun. Wall’s head chef, Robert Lamore, has been with the bistro since the beginning.
“It’s kind of a well-rounded, unique menu,” Wall said.
Of late, he’s focused more on just the menu and bar and hasn’t been scheduling live music or comedy events.
As for the name, Wall said he’s not actually much of a J.R.R. Tolkien fan but took the name from a now-closed restaurant called The Shire in his hometown of Green Bay.
“It became defunct but I always kind of stashed the name away because I thought there was something about it that had a cool ring to it. It was a really neat place too. It had a lot of mahogany like this place,” said Wall.
He also chose the name due the fact it’s the suffix in England for community.
And though Tolkien wasn’t the driving factor in choosing the name, his writings still played a part.
“A little bit (to do) with the hobbits, the eat, drink and be merry (lifestyle). Food and beverage is something important to them. All three of those things make The Shire,” Wall said.
The sense of community runs strong among Wall’s employees, too, as aside from his head chef staying with him for 20 years, another employee named Chris Bruce, who he now co-owns The Branch Bar & Public Room in Centralia with, was also with Wall at the Shire’s start.
Bruce started off with Wall as one of The Shire’s original employees in 2003.
Wall’s focus is not on guessing what the future might hold, but instead working to make sure The Shire remains open year after year.
“We’ll just try to make it to 25 years now and go from there,” Wall said.
In addition to the donation to the Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County, Wall also raffled off 20 gift cards to customers last week to show his appreciation for years of support from the community.
He especially thanked the community for its support during the COVID-19 pandemic and gave special thanks to Experience Chehalis and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County for their guidance with the grant application process.
The Shire Bar & Bistro is located at 465 NW Chehalis Ave. in downtown Chehalis and is open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Stay up to date on the business by following it on Facebook.
