Former ‘World Slurpee King’ for sale in Tri-Cities + 2nd Tri-Cities Popeyes now open
For a long time one Tri-Cities convenience store sold more Slurpees than anywhere else in the world. But the business struggled to remain open during COVID shutdowns, before shuttering completely at the end of 2021.
Now the landmark Tri-Cities Slurpee King 7-11 store is for sale, for just shy of a million dollars.
Signs recently went up advertising that the convenience store once lauded as the Slurpee King of the world is on the market.
The building is listed for $875,000 by brokers Derrick Stricker and Jazmine Murillo. It’s billed as 2,500 square feet on about a quarter acre with 15 parking spots.
At the corner of West Clearwater Avenue and Olson Place, the building is near one of the Tri-Cities’ busiest corridors, less than a mile off Highway 395 and not far from Kamiakin High School.
The store earned the Slurpee King nickname in 2007 when it was named the Slurpee Capitol of the U.S. for selling more of the icy drinks than any other location in the country, according to a news release about the contest.
At the time, owner Don Mariotto attributed the success to doubling their machines and flavors, and a loyal customer base made up of regulars and sports teams from the nearby Kamiakin High.
It didn’t hurt that at the time in the heat of August, the Kamiakin football team was regularly stopping by after practice to cool down.
The next year they took the Slurpee King of the World crown, having sold more Slurpees than any other location in the world for most of the year, according to Herald archives.
Pasco Popeyes
When the first Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in the Tri-Cities opened last year, cars lined up for hours to get a taste of their famous fried chicken.
Less than half a year later, the Tri-Cities now has two Popeyes with the opening of the Pasco location.
The Pasco Popeyes is at 5814 N. Road 68, just off of Sandifur Parkway.
Popeye’s has been a fixture in the fried chicken business for decades, but shot to a new level in 2019 when they took aim at Chick-Fil-A with a gourmet chicken sandwich.
The Kennewick location is at 240 N. Ely St. on the northeast corner where 395 intersects with Vista Way and Clearwater Avenue.
1derful food park
1derful Food Park is now open. The 7-kitchen walk-up-window style food park has opened near Chuck E. Cheese and the Summer’s Hub Food Truck Park.
The park has opened with owner Jeo Seok Baek’s 1Derful Korean BBQ, and has space available for six other dining options. Baek is serving Korean fried chicken, wings, fried dumplings, meat and rice bowls and fries.
1Derful Food Park is between McDonald’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse by the Colonade Shopping Center.
The other suites are available for lease. The park has 800 square feet of shared indoor dining space 1,900 square feet of patio dining.
DogHaus
An exciting new restaurant experience coming to Pasco is now hiring.
Dog Haus is the name on the marquis, but the restaurant will have 7 Instagram-worthy dining options when they open next month.
Customers can order from any of the unique brands, each specializing in a different type of “elevated” food. With Dog Haus customers will get gourmet hot dogs, brats, sausages and burgers on King’s Hawaiian rolls, or they can “corndog” any of the links.
You’ve heard of beer-battered? Well, they’re giving it a twist with root beer-battered flavors.
They’ll also be home to: Big Belly Burgers, offering towering gourmet burgers; Jailbird’s “criminally good” chicken wings and tenders; Bad Mutha Clucka Nashville-style chicken sandwiches; Bad-Ass Breakfast Burrito, offering twists on the time honored tradition, day or night; Huevos Dias breakfast tacos; and Plant B with a full menu of meat alternatives.
They’ll also have a full bar, with 24 beers on tap.
Located at 7425 Sandifur Parkway, Dog Haus is hiring cooks, servers, bartenders, leaders and more.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 12:46 PM.
