From Luxe Wine Bar to Luxe Wine & Whiskey: Downtown Centralia bar rebrands and expands

Jun. 21—After originally opening Luxe Wine Bar in downtown Centralia in November 2022, Shawna Viggers Sicila held an official rebranding party last week to christen the bar Luxe Wine & Whiskey.

As a wine lover, she was dismayed by Centralia's lack of a wine bar and wanted to create an environment that was much more quiet and relaxed than a traditional bar so people, especially women, could enjoy a glass of wine.

Working with her now is her daughter, Kai Sicilia, who moved to help Shawna with her business, which she admitted despite having survived its first year, was struggling a bit.

"Kai said she would come up here and work for me. She came up from Arizona where she's a bartender there," Shawna said.

"I had been down there for about seven years, and now I've been up here about six months," Kai said. "We were down there and she was like, 'It's not doing so hot,' and I was like, 'I feel like I can help you,' so I packed my bags and came up here," Kai added.

Along with expanding the menu to include whiskey and other hard liquors, pizza ovens are now in the back so customers can enjoy fresh pizza, flatbread and paninis while they drink. Kai had several suggestions for Luxe's decor.

"She was like, 'We've gotta get rid of the rose walls.' So we put up mirrors and it makes it feel a lot bigger in here," said Shawna.

In the back of Luxe, Shawna used to sell clothing and other merchandise from local vendors and artists.

While she still sells merchandise, Kai suggested utilizing the space in another way. Though Luxe's main target demographic is women, men join their significant others at Luxe as well.

"Kai said, "We need to get something in here to make the guys stay here,'" Shawna said.

Originally, Luxe offered beer along with wine, but now whiskey and other spirits are on the menu.

Additionally, Luxe will soon be open to the public from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday soon. Previously, Shawna would keep it closed on Sunday to host private parties.

Luxe is still available to rent for private parties. Aside from the new Sunday hours, Luxe is open from 4 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, 1 to 10 p.m. on Friday and 4 to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

"We're going to change them after the Fourth of July," Shawna added.

Luxe also hosts occasional "sip and paint" events along with performances from local musicians. For updates on future events at Luxe Wine & Whiskey, follow the bar on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/luxewinebar.

To learn more about renting Luxe for private parties, email Shawna at [email protected] or call 360-669-5987.

Luxe Wine & Whiskey is located at 207 N. Tower Ave. in downtown Centralia, next to the Rectangle Gallery & Creative Space.