End of the line for Red Rail’s classic ‘Mochamotive’ train caboose in Kennewick
Red Rail Espresso, the small Kennewick coffee chain with a devoted following, will leave its iconic caboose in Southridge for a new spot just a stone’s throw away.
De De and Raney Maurer, the mother-daughter duo behind Red Rail, expect to move to 2601 S. Union Place, a newly-built retail center next to Cynergy Centre and Costa Vida, in September.
The exact date depends on construction and final inspections.
The Maurers are putting the caboose behind them, but their new spot retains one key aspect of the old: Both look directly at the south Kennewick edition of Dutch Bros. Coffee.
The caboose is on one side of 27th Street, the new spot on the other, with the rival in between. The competitors will have drive-thrus that are almost directly across from one another.
The Maurers are unconcerned. Red Rail, they said, came first.
It’s been part of the neighborhood since 2016, when the family took over the caboose, at 4301 W. 27th Ave., which had been operating as “Mochamotive.”
They rebranded it as Red Rail. and say their business is largely unaffected by Dutch Bros., which opened in late 2021.
Red Rail and Dutch Bros. both sell coffee (and other) beverages. The resemblance ends there with each boasting a unique customer base.
“They came across from us. We’re just leapfrogging over,” De De said.
A second Red Rail opened on South Washington Street in 2018. It offers an expanded coffee menu, real ice cream milkshakes, pastries and breakfast sandwiches.
The family’s caboose connections predates Red Rail.
Raney worked at Mochamotive as a Southridge High student and later while attending Columbia Basin College. She enjoyed the job and when the owners wanted to sell, she moved back to the Tri-Cities to operate the business with her mother.
They weren’t looking to leave their classic caboose, but say it had its limits.
It is small, hot in the summer and leased. The owner declined their repeated attempts to buy the property, which they said they needed to warrant investing in broader updates to support the business.
When one of their regular customers offered space in the South Union Place building being constructed by Aden Masonry, they were intrigued.
At 900 square feet, the coffee shop space on Union Place is four times the size of the caboose. It has room for indoor seating and ample storage, a win that will let Red Rail expand its beverage offerings and order in bulk.
The rent is also very competitive, they said.
“We love the caboose and we’re sad to leave, but we don’t own it,” De De said.
The move doesn’t signal bigger plans for the small, feisty chain. The Maurers want Red Rail to stay small and family-focused and aren’t considering additional locations.
Red Rail is one of three tenants for a new, 7,900-square-foot building built near the intersection of Union and 27th Avenue by Don Aden.
CrossFit 12 Stones relocated from a nearby studio. The third space is being fitted out for a muscle recovery business.
The Maurers hope to move Red Rail to its new digs by early September. Watch its progress on Facebook @redrailespresso or on Instagram.