What’s going on with the Richland Shari’s location? Unpaid tax notice raises questions
A Richland restaurant has sat vacant for more than a year, and now it may soon be torn down to make way for an updated restaurant and retail strip.
But a tax lien notice on the door is raising questions about the future of the property along George Washington Way.
The Richland’s Shari’s Restaurant closed in April 2021, and there’s been little indication as to when something might replace it.
The owners of Washington Plaza, Wallace Properties, told the Tri-City Herald last year that they intended to replace the restaurant with a new building housing up to three tenants.
A recent commercial listing indicates that the Starbucks in the main shopping center will move to the new 4,800-square-foot strip and gain a drive through. But the plaza owners don’t own the building, just the land it sits on.
The building itself has been seized by Benton County for nonpayment of back taxes.
The auditor’s office shows about $2,000 owed for 2021 and 2022. It’s unclear when the notice was posted.
Typically once a property has been seized, the auditor has the ability to sell it to recoup the owed taxes or file for a judgment.
A representative for Wallace Properties told the Herald the tax lien will not change their plans. Once they have tenants lined up for the new retail strip, they’ll begin construction.
Kiemle Hagood commercial sales company is handling the real estate listing.
40 years of pie
Shari’s opened the Richland location in 1979, and it became a popular hangout spot, according to Herald archives. The diner chain is known for its bottomless coffee and pies, which are sold whole or by the slice.
The Richland outlet closed in December 2020, along with the Kennewick location.
When the Kennewick restaurant across the street from the Columbia Center mall reopened, the Richland location did not.
Then, in April 2021 the permanent closure of the Richland outlet was announced by a note on the door and a Facebook post.
