3 new restaurant openings in Tri-Cities + Skippers closes & $500K Starbucks remodel
Two restaurants make their Tri-Cities debuts on Friday, Sept. 8.
First is Nana’s Kitchen, a food truck specializing in comfort food.
The other is Muchas Gracias Mexican Food, which took over the old Taco John’s spot near Kennewick High School.
Nana’s Kitchen at Duffy’s Pond
Nana’s Kitchen, led by Christina Schwartz, holds its grand opening celebration at 9 a.m., Friday, at Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village, 325 E. Columbia Gardens Way, in Kennewick.
Nana’s unites more than 30 years of kitchen experience, a family dream of opening a restaurant, and a focus on comfort food.
The menu includes burgers, sandwiches, waffles and a morning lineup of burritos, burritos, tacos and bites.
Schwartz served as chef at a number of Tri-Cities eateries and her longtime sous chef, Allan Nashion, created the truck as a fully-contained food service station. It is stationed at the Columbia Gardens food truck plaza but can travel to special events as well.
Hours are 6 a.m.-2 p.m., daily.
Nana’s Kitchen joins Bobablastic Tri-Cities, Botanas Culichi, Culture Shock Bistro and Frida’s Mexican Grill at the Port of Kennewick’s Columbia Gardens, a wine-oriented destination near Duffy’s Pond and the cable bridge.
Other businesses include Swampy’s BBQ restaurant and Bartholomew Winery, Gordon Estate Winery, Monarcha Winery and Muret-Gaston Winery.
Go to portofkennewick.org/columbiagardensvendors/
Muchas Gracias revives old Taco John’s
It’s been almost a year since Muchas Gracias, based in Vancouver, Wash., leased the former Taco John’s restaurant, 701 Vineyard Drive, near Kennewick High School.
On Friday, Sept. 6, it opens its doors.
Prices will be 50% off the first day and a Mexican band will perform in the afternoon and evening.
To start, business hours will be 8 a.m.-midnight to start.
That will expand to 24 hours a day within a few months, said Ivan Sanchez, whose father, Rodolfo, founded the chain. The family has established more than 80 restaurants, 37 currently operating under the Muchas Gracias name.
Kennewick is its second venture east of the Cascades. The first, in Cle Elum, opened this summer.
Sanchez said the family long wanted to enter the local market, but didn’t spy an opportunity until Taco John’s closed in August 2023 after more than 40 years.
Sanchez said plans to open in early 2024 proved overly optimistic. The gas line to the old building had to be replaced. And frozen water pipes forced a major repair to the kitchen and interior, among other delays.
The building has a new kitchen, fresh paint and fixtures.
Sanchez plans to open with a staff of 35, many pulled from the company’s other locations. Once it is up an running, it will employ about 15, he said.
Muchas Gracias offers Mexican dishes made to order with a lengthy menu featuring tacos, nachos, burritos, combination plates, daily specials, breakfast burritos and a kids menu. The entire menu is available all day.
Go to Facebook.
Skippers closed?
Skipper Seafood ‘n Chowder, 3307 W. Kennewick Ave., has apparently closed following a fire this summer.
The local restaurant was one of the last free-standing Skippers locations still operating.
Company officials could not be reached to comment but no building permits have been issued to suggest it will reopen.
Gang Nam, Richland style
Kennewick’s Gangnam Style BBQ has expanded to Richland and with a new restaurant in a former Key Bank building, 1275 Lee Blvd.
Owner Min Won opened the original Gangnam at 7903 W. Grandridge Blvd., near Columbia Center, in 2017. Gang Nam, the Richland location, opened in late July.
Gangnam and Gang Nam both offer classic savory flavors of Korean cuisine and table-top grilling.
Go to Facebook.
Changes for Kennewick Starbucks
One of 18 Starbucks in the Tri-Cities is temporarily closed.
The Kennewick Starbucks at Highway 395 and West 27th Avenue is closed for a $500,000 remodel. The work includes reducing the interior seating and increasing the kitchen area.
The project also adds new fixtures, furniture and restrooms, as well as upgrades to drive-thru equipment, patio furniture and signs.
Starbucks leases the 1,420-square-foot shop at 4008 W. 27th Ave. The strip mall near Home Depot and Walgreens was built in 2006.
Starbucks devotees can choose from 17 additional freestanding and kiosk locations in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland.
Edwards Construction Group of Ridgefield, Wash, is the contractor. Graphite Design Group of Seattle is the designer.
Starbucks could not be reached to comment on the targeted reopening date.
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