Food & Drink
The Whetstone: A Modern Old-Fashioned Pub
The Whetstone Public House in Waitsburg has the look and feel of an Old World pub. But manager Charleen Neal is using online social networking tools to help create a buzz about it. And it’s working.
The Whetstone Public House in Waitsburg; Top Photo: Charleen Neal behind the bar
Waitsburg probably has more in common with small villages in Ireland than it does with cities like Spokane or Seattle – whether it’s the friendly, relaxed people or the beautiful rolling hills surrounding it. The town shares another feature with many Irish villages, and that’s an old-fashioned Public House. With wood floors, a long wood bar and intimate booths next to the brick walls, the Whetstone Pub’s warm, inviting atmosphere provides exactly the old “Irish Pub” feel that its owners intended.
But when you look behind the scenes, the Whetstone isn’t old-fashioned at all. The Pub’s Manager, Charleen Neal, has brought to the Whetstone a new approach to connecting with its customers that would be completely foreign in old Ireland.
“MySpace and Facebook have been great tools for us to promote the Pub,” says Charleen. “I think they give us more visibility than a web site can.” Yes, the Whetstone is creating a web site, but that seems a bit old-fashioned, given the level of interactivity with customers and the public that the social networking sites provide. “They let us really expand and improve the experience of our customers,” Charleen says. “We have lots of photos and videos on those sites, and people can post their own and make comments about the pub and what’s going on here.”
Charleen came to Waitsburg in February of 2008 to manage the Whetstone. She is a Pomeroy native who attended WSU and then went to work for them. For two years she was in charge of West Side communications for WSU. “I worked in a beautiful downtown Seattle office,” she says. “The majority of WSU’s students come from western Washington, so it’s important that the university have a strong presence there.” Charleen says she learned a lot about online social networking in her job at WSU, which she has brought to her new job at the Whetstone.
Waitsburg native Travis Larsen, and his wife Deborah, purchased the building that housed the former Lyons Den Tavern in June of 2007. The building was built in 1904 as a meeting hall for a fraternal organization called the Knights of Pythias. Travis had lived in Ireland for a short time, and he and Deborah wanted to create the kind of friendly “pub” atmosphere that people in European cultures have been enjoying for centuries. After a lot of cleanup and renovation, the new Whetstone Public House opened in September of 2007.
The Whetstone has become the place to go for live music in Waitsburg. “We try to have a band at least once a month,” Charleen says. She has also started a new Wednesday tradition at the Whetstone called “Sing for Your Supper”. “It’s similar to an open mic night, in which musicians can come and perform, and in return we feed them.” Charleen says the pub regularly hosts special functions, such as holiday and birthday parties, as well as an annual fundraiser with the Waitsburg Lions Club.
The Whetstone serves up some of the best pizza in southeast Washington. Their specialty is the “Cardinal”, which has a little bit of everything. “All of our pizza is hand tossed,” says Charleen. “And it’s big - you won’t go away hungry.” Also on the menu are the Whetstone’s very popular calzones.
And it wouldn’t be a pub without beer, wine and liquor: the Whetstone always has at least six craft ales on hand. Besides Charleen, who works behind the bar a few times a week, the Whetstone employs five regular and two on-call employees.
If you’re ready for a fun evening out and you want to know what’s coming up at the Whetstone Public House in Waitsburg, the answer is as near as your browser.
Whetstone Public House Info:
ADDRESS:
110 Preston Ave.
Waitsburg, WA, 99361
PHONE:
(509)337-6088
HOURS:
Monday- Thursday:
4:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Friday:
4:00 pm - 12:00 am
Saturday:
12:00 pm - 12:00 am
ONLINE:
www.whetstonepublichouse.com
www.myspace.com/whetstonepub
“Whetstone Public House” at Facebook.com