Business owners worry about impact of downtown Kennewick restaurant fire
A fire caused significant damage inside a downtown Kennewick restaurant Tuesday morning, leaving nearby business owners waiting and hoping the smoke hadn’t also damaged their stores.
Firefighters were called to El Tequilas Restaurant about 6:45 a.m. after someone spotted smoke coming from the building, Kennewick fire Chief Michael Heffner told the Tri-City Herald.
When they arrived they found a small amount of smoke coming from the kitchen exhaust. They didn’t realize at the time that a still hot fire had taken most of the oxygen out of the area. When firefighters went inside, it flared up again.
Firefighters were able to douse the blaze, and were checking for hotspots in the walls and ceiling to make sure it hasn’t spread, Heffner said.
“We cautiously believe it has not extended,” he said.
The owners of the neighboring businesses — Storytime Bookshop and Earth Spirit — were on the scene. It appears there may be some smoke odors affecting the shops.
Once it’s safe, investigators will be able to go inside to figure out where the fire started and what caused it.
Two firefighters needed to be evaluated after the fire, but no one else was hurt, Heffner said.
Waiting for information
Erin Sagadin, the owner of Earth Spirit, was dropping her children off at Kennewick High School when she heard the sirens. She said she had a feeling that it was important, so she turned toward Kennewick Avenue.
Then she spotted the fire trucks in front of her building and learned the restaurant next to her business had been shut down.
“I saw the ladder truck extending over my building. When I saw the owner of the Hopper House, he said it was the restaurant,” Sagadin said. “Kennewick and Pasco fire did an amazing job.”
Her heart is broken for the owners of El Tequilas, who had been in the space since 2017.
Sagadin was waiting for a chance to get into the business that she’s been operating for nearly five years. She had just rented the other half of her building with hopes of offering customers the ability to start pouring candles. She is concerned that the plans have been put on hold while they assess the damage the fire caused.
Lorelei Kennedy was worried about how smoke had impacted Storytime Bookshop on the other side of the restaurant. Her wall was next to the restaurant’s kitchen. A firewall had been recently installed, and the construction left cracks where smoke got through, she said.
The children’s book and activity store had just recently moved into the location a few months ago.
“I’m just trying to stay calm and take the information as I get it,” she said. “I’m concerned, but I’m trying to stay calm.”
She expects they will need to deep clean to deal with the smell of the smoke. She said they will likely need some help with clearing out the smoke, and they would be happy to accept any donations of children’s books to replace the stock they lost.
The small businesses in the tightly-knit downtown area often operate on thin to non-existent margins. And she is worried about how this might impact the entire area.
“This time of year is really slow, and this year has been extra, extra slow,” she said. “I have no idea if we’ll be open tomorrow.”
Sagadin urged people to come down to the downtown area and shop.
“We are a community down here. We all look out for each other down here,” she said. “We’re going to have to make up some losses no matter what.”
Stephanie Button, the executive director of the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership, said they were on the scene offering what help they could to the businesses impacted.
She noted that the three stores are in separate buildings, so it’s less likely that the fire spread between the businesses.
This is the fourth fire to impact downtown Kennewick in the past four years including two fires in the Cascade building — one in 2022 and the other in 2023 — and a fire behind the Sports Page last year.
This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 9:26 AM.