Eat All About It: Ethos Bakery sitting pretty after crosstown move

For Ethos Bakery & Cafe, the move from north Richland to south Richland was physically challenging and a little sentimental.

But if owners Scott Newell and Angela Kora ever questioned their decision to move almost every element of the former trattoria, down to the walls, those concerns vanished when the business opened at the former Sharehouse Coffee spot near Queensgate and Keene.

Walk-in traffic is up by a factor of seven. Saturdays alone bring more business than an entire week at the old spot.

“We just always struggled with the location,” said Newell.

Ethos, now called Ethos Bakery and Cafe, held a formal ribbon cutting last week but opened earlier this year at 2150 Keene Road.

Ethos has been a business in transition since last fall when the the former Ethos Bakery & Trattoria curbed evening hours to focus on catering, events and business meetings. The bakery kept its focus on its daytime coffee and pastry business as well as catering, but the move acknowledged the challenge of attracting a dinner crowd to north Richland.

Opportunity knocked when Bethel Church announced it would close the Sharehouse, its community-minded nonprofit, in September. Ethos decided to make the crosstown move.

Newell said dropping “trattoria” from the name signaled a lighter menu for evening hours, though the cafe continues to serve traditional lunch items as well as wood-fired pizzas. There is full-bar service, as well as entrees at night. It is offering classes on craft cocktails and plans to add baking as well.

The move, Newell said, was far from easy.

Ethos left one of two ovens at its original bakery location at the Port of Benton. Bombing Range Brewing is making use of the old oven and Ethos is delighted to see it having a second life. The second, more portable oven, moved with Ethos.

Newell got the keys to the Sharehouse space the week of Thanksgiving. It was outfitted for a coffee shop, down to the cabinets and three-inch concrete counters. Acting as his own contractor, Newell demolished everything.

When the space was ready, Ethos moved all its furnishings, decor and even structural elements from north Richland.

“We just literally picked it up and set it back down again,” he said.

While Ethos was focused on its move, it became the victim of online hijackers. A misstep with its new bank resulted in its domain expiring. The owners started getting alarmed calls from Ethos fans alerting them to Russian porn on their site.

After receiving a demand for $9,000 for the site’s return, Ethos abandoned it and moved to EthosBakery.net.

“It’s been an adventure the last few months,” Newell said.

Business hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Tri-Cities Wine and Music Festival

The third annual festival, a contributing event to the Auction of Washington Wines, is at 6 p.m. June 10 at WSU Tri -Cities. Tickets are $85 per person. Visit auctionofwashingtonwines.org for details.

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This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Eat All About It: Ethos Bakery sitting pretty after crosstown move."