Muchas Gracias restaurant coming soon to a popular haunt near Kennewick High
A growing Mexican restaurant chain is coming to Kennewick.
Muchas Gracias Mexican Food, based in Vancouver, Wash., will open its first Eastern Washington location in early 2024 in the former Taco John’s spot, 701 Vineyard Drive, near Kennewick High School.
The restaurant will be operated by Ivan Sanchez. His father, Rodolfo, started Muchas Gracias in Oregon after learning the restaurant trade as a teen in southern California.
Muchas Gracias operates 76 restaurants in western Oregon and Washington. Most are operated by franchisees who are friends or Sanchez family members.
Ivan Sanchez said customers have long asked it to expand to the Tri-Cities. Officials watched for suitable spots to open, but nothing clicked until Taco John’s announced it was pulling out of Kennewick after 40 years as a favored spot for nearby high schoolers.
The building’s owner turned to Lance Bacon, a commercial broker with Kiemle Hagood, to secure a new tenant. The listing appeared various real estate sites, including LoopNet, which focuses on commercial properties for sale or lease.
That’s where Sanchez spotted it.
He said he was immediately intrigued but discovered another prospective tenant already had it tied up with a letter of intent. Muchas Gracias put in a second-place offer in case the first deal fell through.
Site visit
When that happened, Sanchez visited to ensure the property matched its description.
He remembered being pleasantly surprised. He didn’t know there was a high school nearby, and the reference to a stadium in the listing failed to do justice to the reality of what was right across the street: Neil F. Lampson Stadium.
The stadium lot was full. Ditto for the parking lots at two key neighbors, St. Joseph Catholic Church and School and Spare Time Lanes.
Sanchez was sold and sealed the deal in October. He spent the past week meeting with prospective contractors about updating the building.
It will get a new, expanded kitchen, fresh paint, fixtures and more. He hopes to open by January and will employ 10-15 people.
All day menu
Muchas Gracias serves Mexican dishes made fresh to order. It procures its own beef, pork and chicken, which it processes and distributes itself.
The menu includes tacos, nachos, 22 kinds of burritos, 22 combination plates, five specials each day, breakfast burritos, a kids menu and more. The entire menu is available all day, so nachos for breakfast or a breakfast burrito for dinner is on offer.
Sanchez said his father got his start in the restaurant business when he t moved to the U.S. from Mexico at 15.
He worked in a taco shop in the San Diego area for many years while contemplating opening his own business.
He turned to Oregon after being badly injured in a shooting in California. He chose Oregon as a safer place to raise a family and opened the first Muchas Gracias near Portland.
Go to: muchasgraciasmexicanrestaurant.com