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ORAL HISTORY
Shaena Muldoon
The Palisades Restaurant
Shaena Muldoon was raised in Eggleston, Virginia. In 2004, she chose to move back to her hometown and began the idea for The Palisades Restaurant. In 2008, Muldoon bought the former Pine General Store built in 1926 and operated until 2000. She opened The Palisades Restaurant later that year. Muldoon serves food rooted in her Appalachian upbringing, often adding creative riffs or new flavors to traditional dishes.
From the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Muldoon realized the difficulty it would cause. The Palisades Restaurant did not close their doors. Instead, they transitioned from dine-in service to take-out only service and also offered groceries. Front-of-house employees became delivery drivers. The Pandemic hit in the busy restaurant season and negatively impacted Muldoon’s bottom line, but local county relief funds put in place for restaurants helped the restaurant survive.
