Openings: Homegrown gourmet cookie shop opens Tri-Cities storefront + 2 other new stores
There’s a new gourmet cookie store making a splash in western Kennewick.
After stops at the Public Market in downtown Kennewick and Columbia Center, Grumpy Monkey Cookie Co. has found a permanent home at Hansen Park.
Grumpy Monkey Cookie Co. was built from the ground up by Kassie Norris, a Tri-Cities resident determined to bake a better cookie than her national rivals.
“We do it better,” said Norris, a lifelong baker, mother of six and bodybuilder who moved into a storefront at Hansen Park this month. The shop opened in its new spot March 7 at 910 S. Columbia Center Blvd. , near Yogurt Beach and StarCycle.
Norris created Grumpy Monkey to bake gourmet cookies with a healthy twist after she began competing in bodybuilding competitions and managed an autoimmune disorder.
She replaces white sugar with monk fruit sweetener and uses organic and other high-quality ingredients, saying her take on gourmet is a cut above the competition.
Norris, with the support of her husband, Jon, began Grumpy Monkey as a home-based business.
The name was inspired by the gnawing hunger of body building competitions. The menu is based on family cookie recipes that she adapted.
Growing popularity
The business began at home and later moved to the Public Market at Columbia River Warehouse in downtown Kennewick.
Norris said Grumpy Monkey thrived in the festive market setting, where it attracted the attention of Simon, the national mall operator that owns Columbia Center.
Simon recruited Grumpy Monkey to the Kennewick mall. It took up residence in a custom-built space near Bath and Body Works in mid-2024.
Four months later, the mall asked them to move to a different space that lacked kitchen facilities.
Instead of moving within the mall, the Norrises looked for a better fit. they found it at the corner of West 10th and Columbia Center Boulevard. The landlord offered to share in the cost of converting the space and they signed a five-year lease. Jon, a contractor, did most of the work.
“This is my dream location,” Norris said.
The airy space has an overlarge lobby — space Norris intends to use for events and to promote the local food products she sells.
Grumpy Monkey also sells banana bread from Aub’s Bananza Bread. It is the first outside vendor for the popular Richland brand.
She also carries freeze-dried confections by JoJo’s and What’s the Scoop, a local ice cream brand.
She offers beverages, including protein drinks — a nod to her fitness-minded neighbors.
Home-grown recipes
Norris said she’s been baking since she was 5, and wanted to adapt recipes for health reasons, including an auto immune disease. The menu features 10 regular cookies and three that rotate on and off the menu.
Most come in a gluten-free version that swaps almond milk for dairy. Grumpy Monkey doesn’t present its cookies as healthy, but said they are digestive friendly and have less sugar than their commercial counterparts.
The most popular cookie is the Oreo Blizzard. it starts with a vanilla cookie base mixed with chunks of cookies and cream Hershey’s kisses and Oreos, then stuffed with white chocolate cookies and cream dips.
The Redheaded Step Child starts with a carrot cake base and includes cream cheese frosting in the middle and a Biscoff cookie on top.
Lemme Tell Ya Somethin’ has a lemon base blended with lemon Oreos and white chips, stuffed with cheesecake filling and rolled in powdered sugar.
Cookies are $6, or $7 for the gluten-free versions when available.
Hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday.
Go to grumpymonkeycookieco.com
JoJo’s now in east Pasco
JoJo’s, which produces freeze dried confections, holds a grand opening at its new Pasco quarters at 11 a.m., Friday, April 11, at 3306 N. Swallow Ave., Suite 206, east of the Tri-Cities Airport.
Owner Sarra Hendrick moved the fast-growing business to the warehouse from her family home about a year ago. It opened to the public in February after its former candy store at Living the Dream in Kennewick closed.
Hendrick created JoJo’s after buying a commercial freeze drier to dry greens. That didn’t work, but at the encouragement of family and friends, she experimented with fruits and candies. Her treats are sold at airports around the country, gift shops and online as well as at the shop.
The grand opening program includes samples of JoJo’s freeze dried goodies, specialty peanut butter from James’ Nut House and candied fruit from Lillie Pops.
Follow Jojo’s Freeze Dried Goodies on Facebook.
Food Co-op adds coffee shop
The Tri-Cities Food Co-Op in Richland will cut the ribbon for its new coffee shop and community space at noon, March 14, at 1420 Jadwin Ave.
The coffee shop opens to the public at 7 a.m., March 15.
The Tri-Cities Food Co-Op is led by Alan Schreiber and offers a variety of local produce, dairy, eggs, meat along with a selection of food and wine.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring the community together for this moment,” Schreiber said.
PE-backed sub chain eyes Eastern WA
Port of Subs is adding 10 sub shops in Eastern Washington and northern Idaho as part of a national expansion.
The Reno, Nev.-based sub chain is partnering with Ben Pearson on the development deal, which will see it open open shops in Spokane as well as unspecified locations in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland.
Pearson is a Spokane native and Navy veteran.
Port of Subs is backed by Area 15 Ventures LLC, a Colorado-based private equity firm.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM.