After announcing their plans to open, a new sports bar and restaurant in Yelm aims to celebrate its grand opening on Oct. 24.
The establishment, named The Local, is military and locally owned.
The restaurant will serve breakfast and brunch on the weekends, as well as lunch and dinner seven days a week. Those who are 21 or younger will be allowed in the restaurant area during select hours of the day.
Owners and business partners Kasey Cartledge and Candice Rambo are part of the team behind the new business. Rambo and her husband focus on the food and drinks, while Cartledge designed the interior of the business.
They had the idea to open a sports bar or pub for several years. Once the former Si Racha location became available, they knew they had to act on it.
“Candice asked me what Yelm was missing and I kind of described what she’d been wanting to build,” Cartledge said. “We know the Yelm location very well and we believe we acted on opening The Local at the right time.”
Cartledge and Rambo said they aim to establish The Local as a family-friendly destination. They want to put a big emphasis on being a community oriented business. That starts by forming good relationships with customers.
“We want The Local to be the local hangout and we just want to support our community. We want our customers to be able to know their waitresses and be familiar with them. That’s what we’re aiming for,” Cartledge said. “This is a huge military community and having somewhere you can watch the game, get a cocktail, and have food that isn’t frozen is a huge thing for us.”
The Local will offer a full service bar to go along with their unique menu. Rambo said The Local will offer a selection of fresh steaks, a limited seafood selection, different hamburgers and sandwiches, and fresh salads.
“We’ll also have some unique appetizers, elevated bar food, I guess,” Cartledge said. “The menu will offer fresh food, greasy food, comfort food, and different unique offerings that Yelm doesn’t have.”
Rambo said The Local will make as much food as possible in house to ensure their meals are fresh for their customers. The business’ corned beef, sauces, pickles and salad dressings will be made in house. There will also be fresh pressed juices for drinks.
The Local will offer a selection of 12 beers on tap, including one nitro and one or two different ciders.
“We’re local. This isn’t a franchise or a corporation,” Rambo said. “There’s a lot of love that is being put into every decision we make and we want people to feel that. We aim to celebrate and support our military, our local sports programs and our local Yelm community here.”
Cartledge also wants to offer an easily accessible establishment for families that are constantly on the go.
“We want to run a busy, successful business. For families with children in sports, when practice finishes at the end of the night, there aren’t a lot of dining options open,” Cartledge said. “We want to cater to the early risers and the late night people in our community. On top of that, we want to give back to our military and local community-based programs once we’re able to.”
The Local’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Fridays, 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays and 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
The Local will stay open until 2 a.m. for customers, if needed.
The restaurant will be located at 307 E. Yelm Ave.
