Tri-Cities newest food truck delivers a seafood focus with a Mexican twist
Maria and Francisco Mendoza spent years working and saving before they were ready to open La Bahia Mexican Food, their food truck business.
This summer, they fulfilled their dream. La Bahia, a seafood-focused food truck with an emphasis on authentic Mexican cuisine, opened at Kennewick’s Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village in August.
The Mendozas will celebrate with a grand opening and ribbon cutting at 11 a.m., Sept. 12, at 325 E. Columbia Gardens Way, off Columbia Drive near the cable bridge.
Francisco Mendoza is the chef behind the new truck. He grew up in Caleta, near Michoacan, Mexico, learning traditional recipes working in his mother’s small taqueria after his father died young.
He began working as a welder at 14 and continued first in Colorado and later in the Tri-Cities. Now, 50, he is eager to return to his food roots, in part because he hopes to avoid the health issues colleagues experienced after years of exposure to welding-related gases.
He began catering events in 2019, shortly before the pandemic upended the economy. He continued to work as a welder while Maria worked at Fiesta Mexican Restaurant with family.
Running a food business in the pandemic was difficult, but the couple persisted.
They saved their money and dreamed of owning and operating their own truck. They were determined to avoid debt and the cost to finance the project. The waited to order their new towable trailer until they could pay for it — and the cost to outfit it — outright.
They took delivery in September 2023. It spent nearly two years in their shop as the Mendozas went through the lengthy licensing and health inspection process.
They had hoped to license their mobile food business as its own home base or commissary, under special rules. They’d even invested in extra features.
But the seafood aspect of their menu made it difficult. When they learned they would have to upgrade the water tank and add another sink, they simplified. La Bahia, for “The Bay,” is licensed under rules that require it to have a separate commissary. Fiesta Mexican Restaurant is their commissary kitchen.
They selected the Port of Kennewick’s Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village as their home base because the rent is reasonable and because they can take the trailer to catering events whenever they like.
The port created Columbia Gardens as a wine-themed village in the heart of Kennewick to connect the city to the nearby river. The colleciton of wineries, tasting rooms and food trucks is nestled along Duffy’s Pond.
La Bahia joins a food truck lineup that includes Boblastic Tri-Cities, Botanas Culichi, Frida’s Mexican Grill and Nana’s Kitchen. Swampy’s BBQ rounds out the food lineup with its own restaurant and kitchen on the site.
The La Bahai menu emphasizes seafood but has non-seafood options too.
Specials include shrimp tortas, fish or shrimp ceviche with octopus and the La Bahia Burrito containing both steak and shrimp.
La Bahia hours will be 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 11 am.-2 p.m., Wednesday and Friday.
Follow La Bahia on Facebook.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.