270 Table · July 12, 2026
The short version: Stella's, the restaurant at 202 Broadway in downtown Paducah, is named for Stella Cohen, who was found dead in the building in 1980, the last of a family that lived and died there for close to a century. The restaurant does not hide the history. It named itself after her. Here is the true story under the cocktails and the steaks.
Most restaurants bury whatever sad thing happened in their building. Stella's put it on the sign.
The Cohen building at 202 Broadway has stood at the corner of Broadway and Market House Square since the 1800s. The Cohen family came to Paducah in 1884. Ike and Anna Cohen ran a clothing store on the first floor and raised their children upstairs: Stella, Goldie, Carl, and Rubin, who died young. For close to a century, one family lived its whole life in that building. Then, one by one, it died there too.
The family the restaurant is named for
Anna Cohen died in March 1958. Stella's husband, Ben Peine, died on Christmas Eve 1961. Carl was robbed and beaten and died in October 1968. Goldie, a former concert pianist whose life turned after a carriage accident, became a recluse and died in February 1974. And in July 1980, Stella Cohen was found dead in the building, alone, the last of them, of a heart attack.
That is the whole arc, and the restaurant tells it. Stella's is named for her, and it does not dress the story up or play it for a cheap thrill. It just lets the building keep its history, which is more than most places downtown bother to do.
What it is now
Under the old bones, Stella's runs as a downtown supper-and-cocktail spot, the kind of place built for a slow evening and a good drink. The kitchen leans on real local suppliers, produce and bread and tea from names people here know. It shares an owner with the nearby sports bar, so it comes from people already invested in this stretch of Broadway.
Hours have run to the evenings, Tuesday through Saturday, but call ahead or check before you go, because a small downtown restaurant's schedule moves with the season.
If you go
Stella's | |
|---|---|
Where | 202 Broadway, Paducah, at Market House Square |
The building | The Cohen building, standing since the 1800s |
The name | For Stella Cohen, the last of the family to live and die there |
Before you go | Confirm current hours and reservations, (270) 534-5123 |
Quick questions
Who was Stella Cohen? The last member of the Cohen family, who lived in the 202 Broadway building for close to a century; she was found dead there in 1980.
Is Stella's actually supposed to be haunted? The restaurant leans into the building's history and the ghost story around it; the true part is the Cohen family's long, sad tenure there.
Where is Stella's? At 202 Broadway in downtown Paducah, on Market House Square.
