Four months into Tanner and Mariah Littrell’s marriage, tragedy struck: cancer. A doctor diagnosed Tanner with stage three nasopharyngeal cancer–a type of head and neck cancer. Within weeks, Tanner had dropped 70 pounds from the chemo. During the diagnosis, Mariah Littrell said her life flashed before her eyes.
“I had just found him, so I just could not process that my life had just begun, and all of a sudden, it was falling apart.” she said. “I hadn’t even seen Tanner with strep throat, let alone stage three cancer.”
The couple met online through a dating platform and had their first date on New Year’s Eve. This way, in case the date didn’t work out, each had a backup plan for the evening.
“Obviously it went well,” Mariah says. “We got to ring in the New Year together, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”
Tanner proposed a year later, and the couple married nine months after. Following the diagnosis, the couple found themselves spending their first year of marriage in the cancer center. The following question lingered between them during Tanner’s treatments, and Mariah was unafraid to ask it. What was Tanner’s ultimate dream?
The answer was owning a restaurant.
Welcome to Centralia
To Tanner, his hometown of Arkansas City, Kansas was a small town. With a population a little over 10,000, he never realized that number could get any smaller until he moved to Mariah’s hometown of Centralia.
“We lived in Kansas City, and I didn’t want to leave,” Tanner says. “I never thought about going to Centralia, but then everything came together, and that pushed me toward here.”
That push came from Mariah’s mother, who said Tanner’s dream could become a possibility in Centralia. She knew people who could help, and so, the couple moved to the town of around 5,000 in 2021.
In the months leading up to the Bluebird Bistro’s opening, support was everywhere–from run-ins at the grocery store to shares on Facebook. The community was excited to see a new restaurant in town.
“No one had to tell me that Centralia would support us.” Mariah says. “Tanner was a little questionable about how a small town could support these big dreams we had, but I know how close-knit and supportive we are in this community.”
The Bluebird Bistro opened in July of 2022. The “bluebird” name holds significance for the couple. Tanner is affiliated with the Osage nation, where the bluebird stands for health, renewal and prosperity.
A Community Need
While the restaurant was Tanner’s dream, Mariah had an equal role in bringing it to life. The couple call themselves “yin and yang,” balancing each other out based on their areas of expertise. For Tanner, it was his business acumen, and for Mariah, it was her Centralia knowledge.
“Tanner wanted this eclectic, extravagant menu, and Centralia has never seen a menu like that. We’re a town full of farmers and hard-working people,” Mariah says. “We needed to tame that back, so we’re different. That menu was only going to pull a small bit.”
Today the Bluebird Bistro sells a customizable list of sandwiches, salads and wraps. Tanner says Mariah is responsible for nearly “99% of our successful menu.”
That menu bring Centralia natives like David Fricke back to the restaurant every few weeks.
“It gives everybody a bigger choice–whether they want to eat fast food or sit down at a restaurant or something like this,” Fricke said.
Outside of the menu, resident Jon Angell said the restaurant contributes to Centralia’s economy.
“When you’ve got small town businesses where the ownership lives in town, the profit they make gets rolled up and tax money for the schools,” Angell says. “Also, when some club has a kind of fundraising event, the ownership with the business in town in more likely to support that.”
“I always have something Bluebird on–whether it’s a hat, t-shirt or jacket,” Tanner said. “It’s fun to see where I’ll be going because there’s always someone I’ve never seen before in a town that’s 35 minutes away that will recognize the place.”
Yesterday’s Tragedy, Today’s Triumph
The Bluebird Bistro is coming up in its third year in business. This year, the Littrells will celebrate their eighth year of marriage. Today, Tanner is cancer-free.
As they look to the future, Mariah has entertained the idea of “The Bluebird Memoir,” a book that would detail the couple’s story. Tanner dreams of possibly expanding the Bluebird to other cities, creating what he calls a “Bluebird empire.”
“This is where we were supposed to be,” Tanner said. “I’m very happy and excited for what the future will hold for us.”
