Date set for Kennewick Popeye’s opening. Plus 3 new restaurants coming to Pasco
The day is finally here. The first Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen in the Tri-Cities is opening.
The Kennewick Popeye’s location expects to open Thursday, Aug. 4, according to a sign at the restaurant.
Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen is perhaps best known for launching the “chicken sandwich wars” in 2019 when they took aim at Chick-Fil-A’s bread and butter.
The restaurant, known for its spicy chicken and red beans and rice, was also the “guilty pleasure” of beloved chef Anthony Bourdain.
He loved the restaurants so much he featured them on an episode of Parts Unknown when filming in Louisiana, admitting he had eaten there three times in a row.
With health inspections cleared, the restaurant is ready to unlock its doors this week at the intersection of Clearwater Avenue and Vista Way and Highway 395, next to the Econo Lodge.
It’s the first of two planned in the Tri-Cities. The Pasco site is next on their list.
The Pasco Popeye’s will be at 5814 Road 68, near the Sandifur Crossing shopping center at Sandifur Parkway and Road 68. They don’t have an opening date for that location yet.
Both stores will be about 2,300 square feet with a drive-thru.
Food truck hub
The Hub of Kennewick is also looking to open soon.
Brady’s Brats and Burgers recently posted on social media that they’re in the final stretch of preparing for a grand opening within the next few weeks.
Brady’s will be the flagship of the new food truck park, which features a 7,000 square-foot indoor dining hall.
The business will feature space for 28 food trucks and indoor family-style picnic tables for dining and a stage for entertainment, with garage doors that can be rolled open in the summer.
It’s between the Sportsman’s Warehouse and Chuck E. Cheese at 6481 W. Skagit Ave. in Kennewick.
Plans also are in the works for a neighboring food park, with a walk-up window style outdoor food court.
The 7-kitchen 1Derful Food Park will be going in between McDonald’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse by the Colonade Shopping Center.
The food park will feature seven walk-up order restaurants and a large interconnected patio area, totaling about 30,000 square feet.
Owner Joo Seok Baek of Richland will be running 1Derful Korean BBQ out of the Food Park. He told the Herald earlier this year that he plans to serve Korean BBQ fried chicken and meat-rice bowls, as well as side dishes.
Baek is aiming for an opening sometime this fall.
Pasco restaurants
Hogback Development is bringing several new restaurants to a Pasco shopping center.
The storefronts are between the Lourdes Urgent Care and the Les Schwab Tire Center near the corner of Wrigley Drive and North Road 68 — just down the street from that future Pasco Popeye’s location.
They don’t have a formal address in the city’s permit filing system just yet, but it will be on the 5300 block of Road 68, just south of Sandifur Parkway.
No opening date has been announced, but they have permits filed and health inspections pending for three new franchise locations of Mod Pizza, Chipotle and a Jersey Mike’s Subs.
Store closing
The Tri-Cities is losing a paddleboard rental location.
Northwest Paddleboarding is closing its Richland store front at the end of the season, according to a social media post from the company.
They will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout August, and said September hours will depend on the weather. The business is located just off Howard Amon Park, at 710 George Washington Way, Suite E.
“It’s not an easy business to run but we have done it successfully for a solid 8 years,” they said in the announcement. “We are very proud of that. The best part is all of the amazing memories we made.”
While the store front is closing, they may continue operations in a different form next year, they said.
This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 12:06 PM.
