Holy Mac & Deli serves comfort in style
After selling his Crazy Mary’s gas station and truck stop a year ago, Doug Lundgren realized he needed something new to do.
“I was too young to retire, not enough money to retire, so I needed to come up with another business,” said the Kennewick businessman.
Lundgren searched across three states for business ideas, but what he was looking for turned out to be right in his own backyard.
Lundgren and his family opened Holy Mac & Deli earlier this month on South Zintel Way in Kennewick near Canyon Lakes in the Southridge area. Lundgren lives in Canyon Lakes and couldn’t miss the development unfolding across from him.
“The hospital was the biggest draw (and) you’ve got a hotel going up here,” Lundgren said as he sat in Holy Mac & Deli’s patio area, surveying the Southridge vista.
The Kennewick Public Hospital District’s $24 million medical office and outpatient services building is under construction next to the Trios Health hospital that opened in July. An 80-room, $5.6 million Hampton Inn is being built nearby on Plaza Road.
On the other side of Highway 395, where Holy Mac & Deli sits, Z Place Salon Spa, Kadlec Clinic and HAPO Community Credit Union are open. The senior living community Affinity at Southridge and the Copper Ridge Apartments are just blocks away.
Holy Mac & Deli is not only banking on development continuing, it plans to be part of the effort.
The deli sits in a 3,500-square-foot building, but only uses 2,200 square feet. Canyon Lakes Family Counseling Center rents 1,300 square feet. Lundgren is planning a second building next to Holy Mac that will have space for more businesses to rent.
Construction of the second building hinges on Lundgren receiving letters of intent from prospective renters.
Lundgren expects to spend $2.3 million on the two-building development.
Holy Mac & Deli’s interior has an urban-chic feel with high ceilings, exposed air ducts and pipes and tall windows on two sides that flood the dining area with natural light. An exposed kitchen sits in the middle of the restaurant. The expansive view encompasses much of the Tri-Cities.
“We wanted to build a real open area where you don’t feel confined or claustrophobic,” Lundgren said. “You walk in and you can take a deep breath.”
The menu, Lundgren said, achieves something similar. Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food, and the recipes developed by Lundgren’s wife, Carrie, put a modern spin on the classic dish.
The menu offers a traditional preparation, Doug’s Brats & Mac, a buffalo chicken mac, Connor’s Sour Cream and Bacon Mac and a Mediterranean mac and cheese with feta, sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives. All are sprinkled with crunchy panko bread crumbs.
The deli also offers hot and cold sandwiches, including a Reuben, patty melt and pastrami. A hot crab melt sandwich is served on Fridays.
“Everything is made fresh — nothing sits around,” Lundgren said. “We don’t have a heat lamp or anything like that.”
The restaurant has a beer and wine bar, as well.
It’s also family run. Lundgren’s daughter, Carly, 25, is the manager. His son, Dalton, 21, handles information technology.
“It’s something I always wanted to do,” Lundgren said of working with his family. “If you can trust anybody, you can trust family.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Holy Mac & Deli serves comfort in style."