Tri-Cities openings: Disabled veteran’s special coffee shop + New Indian restaurant
Blessed & Brewed has revived a long-vacant coffee shop and drive-thru in the parking lot of Stevens Center, the Department of Energy office complex in north Richland.
Karen and Phillip Crutchfield opened the business at 2475 Stevens Drive on Sept. 23, taking over the standalone shop vacated during the pandemic by Kagen Coffee & Bistro.
Blessed & Brewed is a labor of love for Phillip Crutchfield, a disabled Army veteran with roots in east Texas.
He initially came to the Tri-Cities for a Hanford job but didn’t like desk work and returned to Texas, where he started coffee shops near Fort Hood (now Cavazos), between Austin and Waco.
He knew little about the coffee business, but Texas was an untapped market that offered room to learn and experiment. He immersed himself in all aspects of the brew business, developing expertise in roasting, flavors and building coffee drinks to suit customers.
“Coffee is where it’s at,” he joked.
The couple sold the two shops and returned again to the Tri-Cities, where Karen works at Hanford.
Phillip considered himself retired at 43, courtesy of some serious injuries sustained during his time in the military.
But coffee beckoned.
The couple decided to open a shop in Richland after their ongoing “should we?” conversations were interrupted by a message. A customer from their former shop in Texas was wondering about them and missing the “best coffee she’d ever had.”
That was all the encouragement they needed to take on the Stevens Drive spot.
The Crutchfields brought in their own brewing equipment and grinder. Otherwise, the shop had what they needed to launch — freezers, a three-sink kitchen and other gear.
They cleared out stacks of boxes and gave it a comfy decor. They put out flags to alert nearby office workers that the shop is open again. Business is picking up, Phillip said.
Blessed and Brewed will add breakfast and lunch items when it secures approvals. It won’t cook on site, but will have a sandwich bar and premade items, he said.
Coffee takes center stage at Blessed and Brewed. The Crutchfields sampled more than 200 different roasts before settling on the ones they wanted to serve in Richland, choosing a mellower roast with light, fruity notes.
Phillip is keeping his roaster’s identity a secret, but said the shop’s beans are custom roasted and unique to Washington. it takes delivery within 24 hours of roasting and is careful to use it before it loses flavor.
Fans will be able to buy beans for home brewing in the future, Phillip said.
Blessed and Brewed takes its name from the blessings he feels on being able to go home after the military.
Many didn’t, he said. He’s blessed that he did and can do what he loves, which is brew coffee for customers.
His military background is embedded in the business, with coffee and other drinks named for weapons systems and military terminology.
He said he isn’t promoting gun violence, just using on names he can remember and that honor veterans.
“I still want to show support for my brothers,” he said.
An entire line of Red Bull-based drinks is named for military helicopters (Apache, Chinook, Black Hawk) because, as the slogan claims, the energy drink “gives you wings.”
Blessed and Brewed boasts a lengthy menu and an even lengthier hidden menu packed with special drinks he loves making to suit the customer.
Current hours are 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Follow Blessed and Brewed on Instagram.
Cardamom Indian Grill & Bar
1312 Lee Blvd., Richland, formerly Tommy’s Tap House & Bistro
A new Indian restaurant has opened in the old Tommy’s Taphouse & Bistro spot in central Richland.
Cardamom Indian Grill & Bar offers Indian classics, including butter naan, chicken soup, biryanis and lamb curry, kebabs, Asian dishes and vegetarian options as well as a bar menu.
The restaurant is owned by Gurunam Kochhar and Satwinder Singh.
Hours 11 a.m.-10 pm., Monday to Sunday.
Tommy’s Taphouse was the Tri-Cities first taphouse, was damaged by a late-night fire in 2021. Tommy’s opened in 2012 as a branch of Bellingham’s McKay’s Taphouse. It was renamed by new owners in 2017 and permanently closed after the building suffered extensive damage a kitchen fire in 2021.
Go to cardamomindiangrillandbar.com/
Friends Corner Gas Station Convenience Store
8920 W. Clearwater Place
Clearwater Gs Station & Convenience store has opened at the northwest corner of West Clearwater Avenue and North Steptoe Street in Kennewick.
The new business features four fuel pumps, a 4,000-square-foot convenience store and a drive-thru window for food and coffee service.