New gastropub to offer ‘Proof’ that Tri-Citians want more than chains

San Francisco has its Top of the Mark restaurant.

The Tri-Cities will soon have its own version of skyline dining.

Mike Miller, a founder of Stick+Stone Neopolitan Wood-Fired Pizza at Queensgate, is preparing to debut a high-end gastropub in Kennewick.

It will open on the top two floors of the Massage Envy Spa building on Columbia Center Boulevard.

OK, it’s the third and fourth floors but the 3,300-square-foot space offers two stories of floor-to-ceiling windows and an expansive deck with views sweeping from the Columbia Center corridor to the Columbia River bluffs of western Pasco.

Four years after Stick+Stone’s debut, Miller, together with his wife Meridith and his parents, is branching into upscale bar food in an untested location. The venture, called Proof Gastropub, is far from complete but Miller is optimistic is will be ready to open in December.

The 90-seat restaurant will serve top-notch bar fare and craft cocktails in a stylish, industrial chic setting. Miller acknowledged that there’s risk to opening a public restaurant on an upper floor.

He’s banking on the views and the food to win over customers. Lu Lu Craft Bar + Kitchen and Anthony’s at Columbia Point are useful models. They aren’t conveniently located for most Tri-Citians but diners happily make the trek for the food and the Columbia River views, he said.

Proof Gastropub is reachable by both stairs and elevator. It is across the parking lot from the building that formerly housed FrankenBurger’s Fry Lab, near the Three Rivers convention campus and Toyota Arena. Porter’s Real Barbecue of Richland plans to open there next spring.

Miller said he’s excited to be neighbors with Porter’s, a fellow local restaurant success story. The “Proof” name isn’t just a playful reference to alcohol, Miller said. He hopes it will disprove the old saying that Tri-Citians prefer chains to local restaurants.

“This is going to be proof that local restaurants can work in this area,” he said.

Miller is a 2004 Southridge High School graduate with a marketing degree from Washington State University. He worked in the restaurant industry all through high school and college, lapping up the fun, camaraderie and endless need for services.

He tried corporate life after graduation but after eight years at a desk, his inner entrepreneur emerged.

“It’s just something inside me,” he said.

He partnered with friends to open Stick+Stone at Queensgate, then a newly developing retail district. He calls it a learning experience that involved retooling the menu to suit local tastes.

“Our product has gotten better,” he said. Stick + Stone has about 20 full- and part-time employees.

As the business matured, Miller found himself with time to pursue a new concept. The gastropub concept is well-suited to the space he’s leased. The building owner began work to develop the two-floor spot into a bar but halted the project after the walls and some infrastructure were partly built.

Miller is making use of the preexisting layout. That’s helping keep construction costs to about $200,000. The venture is funded by Stick+Stone profits and an Small Business Administration loan from Banner Bank.

The space includes a main dining room, bar, kitchen and deck on the third floor and a smaller fourth floor space that can be used for dining or special events.

LCR Construction LLC is building the restaurant. Miller said he’s hired a chef and will soon begin recruiting for key positions. Proof will employ about 25 full- and part-time workers when it opens.

Drink Prosser Wines

The Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center in Prosser will feature premium, not readily accessible local wines at the kick off for the Prosser Wine Network’s Drink Prosser — Wine Club Experience weekend.

The kickoff is 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 10 at Walter Clore, 2140 Wine Country Road. Tickets are $20 per person and are available from the Prosser Wine Network Facebook Page, bit.ly/DrinkProsserReception

For the rest of the weekend, 22 Prosser area wineries will offer wine club benefits to visitors who are members of at least one wine club.

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This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "New gastropub to offer ‘Proof’ that Tri-Citians want more than chains."