The latest news on new restaurants and businesses in the Tri-Cities
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A popular barbecue food truck is getting a brick and mortar location.
Swampy’s BBQ Sauce and Catering has signed a lease with the Port of Kennewick and will build a restaurant near the Columbia Gardens Wine and Artisan Village near Clover Island.
The wine and artisan village, at 325 Columbia Dr., is home to several wine tasting rooms run by local wineries. Swampy’s has been a mainstay in the food truck plaza at the wine and artisan village.
Last year Tri-City Herald readers voted Swampy’s the second best BBQ in the Tri-Cities.
Swampy’s BBQ Sauce and Catering has been a mainstay in the food truck plaza at the Columbia Gardens Wine and Artisan Village, and now they’re preparing to build a brick and mortar on the property. Courtesy Swampy's BBQ
Popeyes
Demolition work has kicked off at the future home a popular fried chicken restaurant.
Crews have knocked down the old building at Highway 395 near the corner of West Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick to make way for a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen fast-food restaurant.
Demolition of a building, housing two previous restaurants, is taking place on Highway 395 near the corner of West Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick to make way for a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen fast-food restaurant . The new 2,333-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru will be built at the former lot of West Coast Auto Dealers. The popular fast-food chain, best known for its crispy fried chicken also serves chicken nuggets and tenders, as well as sides of cajun fries, coleslaw and red beans and rice, has 25 locations in Washington with the closest in Sunnyside. Bob Brawdy bbrawdy@tricityherald.com
The new 2,333-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru will be at the site of the former lot of West Coast Auto Dealers.
The building that was demolished was the site of two previous restaurants, Fat Olives (now in Richland) and The Country Gentleman (now CG Public House in west Kennewick.)
The popular fast-food chain, best known for its crispy fried chicken also serves chicken nuggets and tenders, as well as sides of cajun fries, coleslaw and red beans and rice, has 25 locations in Washington with the closest in Sunnyside.
Jim Batdorf, CEO and head distiller at Solar Spirits, is pictured explaining the distilling process for vodka in 2020. Jennifer King jking@tricityherald.com
Solar Spirits will be offering ready-to-drink bottled craft cocktails beginning March 12 under the brand Pioneer Cocktails.
Pioneer Cocktails will use real craft cocktail ingredients featuring Solar Spirits base spirits, available in 375ml bottles, which is the equivalent to about four cocktails. Bottles are available for purchase at the Solar Spirits tasting room.
Flavors include: Martinez - Old Tom Gin paired with the light sweetness of cherry liquor; Negroni - A bitter, herbal cocktail balanced with a nice sweetness; Gimlet - A crowd pleaser made with gin, lime, and simple syrup.
In 2020, they shifted some of their operations to producing hand sanitizer to help combat nationwide shortages.
Their Richland tasting room is open 3 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, at 2409 Robertson Dr.
Crumbl Pasco
The long awaited third Tri-Cities location of Crumbl Cookies is set to open later this month. They hope to open around March 17, pending final approvals.
There will be a Crumbl in each of the Tri-Cities once this new Pasco location opens at 5025 Road 68, in a former nail salon across the parking lot from Yoke’s Fresh Market.
The chain already has more than 260 locations in 36 states just four years after opening its first store in Utah.
The Pasco store will be run by Richland Crumbl Cookies franchise owners Kevin Hatch and Ian Taylor. The Richland store is in the Vintner Square shopping area, at 2665 Queensgate Dr.
The Kennewick store is at 1102 N Columbia Center Blvd., Ste. B, in front of Target.
Brie Aho, an employee at the Crumbl Cookies location in Richland, fills boxes with fresh made cookies during a Tuesday afternoon rush of customers. The fresh and tasty treats are one idea for last-minute Christmas gifts. Bob Brawdy Tri-City Herald
The bakery features four weekly rotating cookie flavors selected from a menu of 40 recipes, along with the standard warm chocolate chip and chilled sugar cookies. They also specialize in seasonal and holiday related flavors.
Crumbl also has six ice cream flavors, such as peanut butter chocolate, sea salt toffee, churro and hot chocolate.
Masala Indian Express is closing, but their sister store Masala Indian Cuisine at 3321 W. Kennewick Ave. will remain open.
Restaurant closes
Masala Indian Express, at 8524 W. Gage Blvd Ste. 4 in Kennewick, closed at the end of February, according to a social media post from the restaurant.
Its sister restaurant Masala Indian Cuisine, at 3321 W. Kennewick Ave. Ste. 100, is still open.
They will be offering a lunch buffet at that location on weekends.
Cory McCoy covers housing and development for the Tri-City Herald. If you have information about businesses opening or closing in the area, let him know at cmccoy@tricityherald.com
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 10:30 AM.
Cory is an award-winning investigative reporter. He joined the Tri-City Herald in Dec. 2021 as an Editor/Reporter covering social accountability issues. His past work can be found in the Tyler Morning Telegraph and other Texas newspapers. He was a 2019-20 Education Writers Association Fellow, and has been featured on The Murder Tapes, Grave Mysteries and Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen.
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