A wine for every palate: Fat Olives earns toast from Wine Spectator

A Richland restaurant that blends fine and casual dining and a wine list with more offerings than seats picked up a nod from one of the nation’s leading wine magazines.

Wine Spectator awarded Richland’s Fat Olives Restaurant & Catering an Award of Excellence, an apparent first for the Mid-Columbia.

Fat Olives is the brainchild of Erica and JD Nolan and Nolan’s parents, Tiny and Lisa Nolan. The family opened the original Fat Olives in Homer, Alaska, an outdoorsy tourist stop southeast of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. Richland is its second outpost.

Building a 150-label wine list is no small feat for a smallish restaurant. Fat Olives seats about 100 indoors, with room for another 20 or so outdoors.

“You gradually build up to it,” said JD Nolan.

Nolan grew up in Alaska and cut his teeth in the family business. His parents, originally from west Texas, operated a fine dining restaurant in Homer but switched gears and opened Fat Olives to offer fine dining in a more casual setting.

Nolan is a fourth generation restaurateur who left Alaska for the Mid-Columbia and its wine culture.

He and his family initially contemplated opening a restaurant in Walla Walla. Friends convinced them otherwise.

“The Tri-Cities needs a family owned restaurant,” they pleaded.

The Nolans settled on the former Arctic Freeze building at 255 Williams Blvd., near George Washington Way and the Uptown Shopping Center. They remodeled and expanded the aging building. Fat Olives opened in 2010 with a menu anchored by the best wine list they could assemble.

The format blends fine and casual dining in a relaxed setting. The menu has offerings for sophisticated palates and ranges down to kid-friendly pizza. It rotates about five times annually to reflect seasons, as well as evolving flavor trends. With fall looming, Nolan said he’s looking forward to the heartier fruits of local farms.

Looking ahead, Nolan said he’s focused on growing the business and its full-service catering arm. And there is a fifth generation of Nolans on the scene. His teen-aged daughter already buses tables.

He estimates about 85 percent of its wine list focuses on Washington. For the rest, Nolan aims to touch the great wine-producing regions of the world, such as California, France, Spain, New Zealand, and Australia

In a nod to Red Mountain, it recently added a special list of vintages produced either on Red Mountain or from grapes grown there. Nolan said he’s developing a zinfandel list as well.

Fat Olives is the tasting room for Schooler Nolan Winery, the Nolan family’s latest undertaking. It produces wines at a contract winery in Prosser from Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills fruit. Current releases include a Red Mountain Cabernet, and its Horse Heaven Hills Red Blend, among others.

Diners can check it out as part of the ongoing Taste Tri-Cities promotion. Through Aug. 16, local eateries and wineries are highlighting regional wines and food. In partnership with Frichette Winery, Fat Olives is offering a “no corkage fee” special to diners who bring in their own bottle.

Wednesday, it partners with Purple Star Wines for a winemaker happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. at the restaurant. Purple Star winemakers Amy and Kyle Johnson will be on hand.

Regular business hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 4 to 9 p.m. Saturdays. The restaurant is closed Sunday.

Roadtrippers take note

The Prosser Beer & Whiskey Festival is 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Prosser Wine and Food Park on Lee Road.

The event features 30 Northwest breweries and distilleries along with music, food and a cigar lounge. Shuttle service is available to local hotels.

Tickets are $40 for general admission (entry and a glass) or $75 for a VIP pass (admission, glass, shirt, swag bag and access to Milne Fruit VIP lounge.) Visit tourprosser.com/beerandwhiskey for details and VIP passes, which are not available at the gate.

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This story was originally published August 8, 2017 at 3:26 PM with the headline "A wine for every palate: Fat Olives earns toast from Wine Spectator."