The Centennial Public House brings an American melting pot menu to downtown Greeley
The Centennial Public House in downtown Greeley offers a blended menu of foods reflecting America’s melting pot alongside pub classics like fish and chips, burgers, sandwiches and salads. Photo courtesy of Centennial Hospitality Group.
By Emily Kemme
The Centennial Public House opened at the end of June behind an alluring, bright blue façade accented with gold letters pierced by an arrow that points east. Tucked between two buildings on 9th Street Plaza in downtown Greeley, the space offers a cozy pub environment that balances sports bar vibes with quieter sections where you won’t notice the people cheering on (or yelling at) their favorite teams in front of the televisions.
Brian Seifried — the seasoned restaurateur behind Centennial Hospitality Group whose portfolio includes successful concepts Wing Shack, Luna’s Tacos & Tequila and Sexy Sammies — acknowledged the summer opening happened just as the Greeley Stampede kicked off, folks left town for vacations or were focused on perfecting their backyard grilling techniques. He said it wasn’t the best time for serving up a menu of hearty American comfort foods like savory French onion soup or a shepherd’s pie made with minced smoked lamb, beef and a medley of vegetables all topped by mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of bread crumbs.
But since Labor Day, he’s noticed people settling into their routines and coming downtown. The Centennial added a popular lunch service a few weeks ago, hoping to fill a gap left by the closures of the Greeley Chop House and Lonesome Buck, the previous tenant in the building where The Centennial is located.
There’s a line up of local craft brews and scratch-made French onion soup at The Centennial Public House in downtown Greeley. Photo courtesy of Centennial Hospitality Group.
The months following the soft opening have allowed for growing pains and time to tweak the menu after finding out what patrons wanted, said Chris Wornowicz, head chef at Luna’s and The Centennial.
Moving into the fall and winter seasons, Wornowicz is adding more eclectic sandwiches, burgers, pastas and lunchtime salads. They’ve also had time to test an in-house smoker where they make dry rub or honey adobo wings (a nod to Luna’s menu), house-smoked pastrami and bacon.
Seifried believes the menu, to some degree, reflects James Michener’s book, Centennial. A prolific best-selling novelist, Michener spent a number of years in Greeley where he earned a masters of arts in education at Colorado State Teachers College, (now University of Northern Colorado). He taught social science at the college and at College High School from 1936-1941. In 1972, the campus’s main library was named after him. Centennial, a story about life on the plains, was published in 1974.
“We’re a modern American pub, while Centennial celebrates the Greeley area,” he said.
The menu gives a nod to the Germans From Russia, a cohort of immigrants to the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s who were often beet farmers.
“They were part of the melting pot that’s America. There’s also east coast, Jewish pastrami and Italian influences, and some representation of the classic English or Irish pubs with fish and chips and shepherd’s pie, but basically, this is American food,” Seifried said.
Seifried’s mom’s family were Jews who emigrated from Baden-Baden, Germany. Wornowicz grew up in New Jersey. They wanted to showcase foods they love to eat with their families for special occasions and to celebrate that connection.
“The pierogis and kielbasa and sauerkraut harken back to Chris (Wornowicz’s) Polish heritage and the Italian side is from his experiences as a chef in Jersey. I grew up in Westminster, Colo., and we got good rye bread, pastrami and continental sausage in Denver. But for all the heritage we have in this area, German food is a weird missing niche in northern Colorado,” Seifried noted. “We didn’t realize that there were so many people who didn’t know what a pierogi was, but we’re teaching them about these savory stuffed dumplings.”
The two hope to encourage people to go out to eat again, stressing the importance of having those dining experiences at independent, non-chain restaurants.
“It seems easier to go to a chain for a burger and a beer,” Wornowicz said. “We want to bring accessibility to an indie environment where there’s an intention to get dressed up a bit and go out for dinner, especially in the downtown area.”
Handcrafted cocktails, like the Black Knight made with Old Forester whiskey and black walnut liquor, are a good match for Chef Chris Wornowicz’s culinary creations. Photo courtesy of Centennial Hospitality Group.
His underlying goal is industry sustainability, which may be tough to meet.
Seifried said he’s seen exaggerated costs on commodities, labor and construction since the COVID-19 era. Wornowicz also doesn’t want to see line cooks and chefs replaced by machines, a direction he said many industries are headed.
In his professional kitchens, Wornowicz works with high school kids through ProStart, a national program supported by the National Restaurant Association, where over the course of two years, students learn culinary arts and restaurant management.
“Food is a necessity. I want these kids to learn life skills and ways to advance in this business. I want to see cooks get better than what I’m asking for and move on to a bigger place and continue to grow. That’s not going to happen if we’re serving people food we cut up, put in bags and microwave,” he said. “I’ve been in the industry for 25 years, and if you’re working at a chain (restaurant), all you know how to do is flash fry.”
He teaches employees high school age and up how to prep raw ingredients from scratch. That might include learning what an avocado looks like, whether it’s ripe or hard, whether it’s usable or not. His on-the-job lessons teach why it’s better to cook an ingredient using a certain method, whether that’s steaming, roasting, frying or sautéing.
“There’s also teaching how to prioritize what to do when there’s a rush of orders, multi-tasking and other skills that can be brought over to different jobs for the future,” he said.
Along with serving up scratch-made meals, The Centennial’s bar program designs handcrafted cocktails, pours local craft beers and has a small curated wine list.
It’s the kind of place where you can sit back and gaze upward at the lazily turning vintage ceiling fans, the ones that are still operated by an old pulley system. When you walk through the door, notes of gleaming bronze accentuate the polished bar, and a cool darkness sends the message, “Let’s slow down and live a little.”
That’s why Wornowicz and Seifried believe places like The Centennial are worthy of their skills. It’s dining that pulls from the area’s history while looking forward into the future, all at the same time. In a sense, the pub’s menu is a way of preserving history by showcasing how good something can taste when prepared slowly, with a purpose.
Experience The Centennial Public House
Where: 819 9th St. in Greeley
Hours: Tues - Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m. | Fri - Sat 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. | Sun 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. | Closed Monday
Contact: (970) 573-5616 | thecentennial.co
Notable: Large bar with craft cocktails, local brews and wine | Scratch made meals | Diverse dining areas | Good for families and groups | Outdoor patio