Free BBQ to launch new Kennewick restaurant

To be honest, Team Eat All About It was a tad nervous about announcing Porter’s Real Barbecue’s grand opening plans.

Did Porter’s really want to spread word it is giving away free barbecue, sides and a drink when it opens its Kennewick restaurant March 8?

Yes, said Porter and Reed Kinney, the brothers behind the popular Richland barbecue brand.

The second edition of Porter’s opens at 11 a.m. at 1022 N. Columbia Center Boulevard, the former home of Fire & Brimstone Wood-Fired Eatery. Mustang Signs installed the new Porter’s sign about a week ago.

Richland fans don’t need to worry. The original Porter’s on The Parkway isn’t going anywhere. The new location is an expansion, not a replacement.

Still, aren’t the Kinneys worried that they will draw too big of a crowd? Overnight campers (see Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme)? Run out of food?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

“We’re going to make a crazy amount of food,” said Porter.

They’ve laid out a zone for the line and if police shut them down, “That’s OK.”

The new Porter’s is part two of a one-two expansion the Kinneys announced back in October. Porter’s said it would build a central kitchen at the Richland Airport and then a second restaurant and possibly more.

The 3,000-square-foot commercial kitchen opened in early February. Dubbed the “Temple of ‘Q,” the kitchen produces four times as much barbecue as the kitchen in the original Parkway spot. All cooking now takes place at the commercial kitchen.

Porter Kinney leads a small cooking team. The brothers are both Hanford High graduates. Porter developed a love for southern barbecue techniques when he moved to South Carolina after high school in search of adventure. After returning to the Tri-Cities, he turned his passion into a business.

It launched in a converted RV at Richland’s John Dam Plaza in 2014 and was a hit from the start. It regularly sold out and was profitable from the start. Encouraged the Kinney family opened the brick and mortar spot on The Parkway.

For the new kitchen, the Kinneys partnered with investors who bought the land and developed the kitchen to their specifications. There is room to add another smoker and Porter’s has an option to buy the property.

Reed said the commercial kitchen simplifies the business by eliminating most cooking from individual restaurants. That means they can lease restaurant space without the need to install pricey vent hoods and since everything is cooked fresh every day, they don’t have to invest in freezers.

That sets the stage to lease more potential locations.

As for the free-all-day grand opening plan, the Kinneys call it a way of putting their money where their heart is. As they contemplated a big opening day gesture, the brothers keep thinking about the positive feedback they’ve received since day one.

“What can we do to show we really mean what we say, that we attribute our success to the community,” Porter recalled. The team decided, “Let’s do something crazy.”

The Kennewick Porter’s opens daily at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m., or 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Prosser goes Dutch!

Dutch Bros. Coffee, the Grants Pass, Ore.-based caffeine juggernaut, is headed to Prosser. The Prosser Economic Development Association confirms Dutch Bros. intends to open a drive-through coffee stand next to KFC, on Merlot Drive near the Wine Country Road interchange with Interstate 82.

Honeybaked Ham makes it official

HoneyBaked Ham Co. opened in Kennewick at Christmas but is planning an official grand opening this week.

The cafe will hold a ribbon cutting with the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce at 10 a.m. Friday. The celebration continues from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, at 731 N. Columbia Center Boulevard, #122.

Georgia-based HoneyBaked operates cafes that also sell hams, turkey breasts and other entrees, side dishes and desserts. The Kennewick store is its first Eastern Washington location outside of Spokane.

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This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Free BBQ to launch new Kennewick restaurant."