Ethos Trattoria works to raise the bar in north Richland

The folks who brought Ethos Bakery to the Tri-Cities have opened Ethos Trattoria, fulfilling a vision years in the making and giving diners another option for elevated Italian cuisine.

Meant to be accessible and welcoming, co-owner Angela Kora said Ethos Trattoria, at 800 Dalton Ave. in Richland’s Research District, offers everything from coffee and pastries in the morning to a specially crafted dinner menu in the evenings, providing an intimate dining experience paired with original fare.

“We are definitely trying to raise the bar culinarily in the Tri-Cities,” Kora said.

Ethos Bakery, the first entity of what is now Ethos Group, opened in October 2011. Kora and co-owner Scot Newell have since added Ethos Creamery, Ethos Catering and Finnegan Frost, a frozen yogurt shop at the intersection of Gage Boulevard and Keene Road.

The pair worked on the restaurant concept for more than three years, even raising $37,000 through a Kickstarter crowdsource funding campaign to buy a specially constructed copper-encased, wood-fired oven for the restaurant. Donors to that campaign were the restaurant’s first customers at a soft opening more than a week ago.

Executive Chef Autumn Brown, a Pasco native, trained in Italy and California and was sous chef at the 4-star Le Foret in New Orleans. Sous Chef Elizabeth Garcia previously worked with Brown and relocated from San Diego to work at Ethos Trattoria.

Kora said Ethos was providing some dinner service at the bakery in recent years with special wine dinners, but the Trattoria menu will expand upon that work. Entrees including gnocchi, spaghetti made with the bakery’s sourdough starter and a hanger steak slow-cooked in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven are among the signature dishes.

But the Trattoria won’t be a super formal place, Kora said, noting the goal is to provide those at Washington State University Tri-Cities, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and others working in the Research District a place to meet and mingle.

The restaurant’s opening will mean a change for the bakery’s longtime customers; while Ethos will continue to sell at farmers markets and maintain its wholesale accounts, retail sales of its bread will be discontinued at the bakery. It will eventually be available for sale at the Trattoria, but a final baking schedule is still in the works, Kora said.

Coffee and pastries are available beginning at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and at 8 a.m. Saturdays. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a beverage and light snack menu available from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner is served form 5 p.m. to close, or 9 p.m. on weeknights and 10 p.m. on weekends. The Trattoria will be closed Sundays.

Gaslight

Gaslight Bar & Grill, which took over the space formerly occupied by Jack-son’s at the corner of Lee Boulevard and George Washington Way in central Richland, has opened its doors.

Named after one of the establishments that used to occupy the restaurant, Gaslight’s new owners fully renovated the interior while preserving the antique back bar that came from a Montana brothel.

While still a sports bar, the new owners are aiming for a more upscale dining experience and have made the restaurant for those 21 and over.

Mai House Seafood Grill & Bar

Another addition to the dining scene in Southridge appears close to opening its doors.

Staff are being hired for Mai House Seafood Grill & Bar, at 3617 Plaza Way, according to signs posted at the restaurant. Opening is reportedly scheduled for Aug. 19.

Editor’s note: Our ‘Eat All About It’ column by business reporter Ty Beaver provides news and updates about the dining scene in the Tri-Cities. Have information about a new restaurant, bar, food truck? Send it to tbeaver@tricityherald.com. Ty Beaver: 509-582-1402; tbeaver@tricityherald.com; Twitter: @_tybeaver

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Ethos Trattoria works to raise the bar in north Richland."