Journal of Business - March 2023

Park Place fulfills vision of creating mixed-use development

Leasing Park Place’s remaining retail storefront marks the completion of a longtime vision to create a vibrant mixed-use urban community between George Washington Way and Howard Amon Park in Richland.

It’s the first urban community in the area, said Jen Soto, regional property manager for Spokane-based Prodigy Property Management.

“We don’t have anything like this in the Tri-Cities,” she said. “There’s not a lot of open land here in the Tri-Cities to develop it.”

Developers broke ground on the $20 mil-

lion development made up of retail suites and apartments in 2019 at 650 George Washington Way, providing easy access to the heart of Richland and its waterfront amenities.

Tulipe, a clothing and lifestyle shop, leased the last available retail unit in the development. The new store celebrates a grand opening March 17-18 at 614 George Washington Way.

Retail spaces are also filled along Park Place’s lower level, which faces Howard Amon Park.

“We’re 100% full retail now,” said Ana Villa, Park Place’s property manager. “Most of them just opened their doors. I know they

Setbacks don’t deter big plans for Pasco’s Osprey Pointe Marketplace

By Laura Kostad for

Four years ago, plans to develop Osprey Pointe Marketplace were announced.

When Eaty Gourmet couldn’t deliver, JMS Construction stepped up with a goal of breaking ground in 2020.

Then Covid-19 upended the project.

Once the dust had largely settled, the opening was revised to summer 2022.

Then the 2021 Washington State Energy Strategy mandated that new and existing buildings transition to high-efficiency electric space and water heating.

Then there was proposed legislation to ban natural gas altogether as a heat source in new

commercial construction and residential projects four stories and taller.

The series of setbacks posed major problems for James and Meredith Sexton, owners of JMS Construction, who have been in the process of master planning and engineering the Port of Pasco’s 55-acre parcel at Osprey Pointe.

Slow-going process

The homebuilders’ vision includes more than just a housing development.

And they’re not giving up.

They want to convert the vacant waterfront property into a mixed-use development with commercial space.

Plans call for 1,063 homes consisting of apartments, condominiums and detached condos, a 350-room hotel and the centerpiece: a 9,400-square-foot indoor marketplace, event facility and an outdoor amphitheater bigger than the Gorge in Quincy. The snag? The Sextons had planned to heat the marketplace with four gas furnaces.

The proposed bill ended up dying, but in an unexpected move, the Washington State Building Code Council passed a similar ban in spring 2022. It goes into effect this July.

Changes to the state building code were made in the interest of reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

are excited about the location and about seeing what’s to come.”

Vision for busy corridor

Fronting busy George Washington Way, Park Place sees more than 33,000 vehicles drive by the location every day.

In addition to the retail space, the development rents studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, with many residents still working from home, offering the nearby shops a built-in customer base, Villa and Soto said. The city of Richland always had a vision for this highly visible area.

“Overall our strategy is a vibrant, walk-

buyers bid more than $5M on Wye properties

By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz

The potential transformation of the Richland Wye is a step closer to reality after a pair of land auctions yielded 11 buyers who bid more than $5 million for property left behind by the late Jerry Sleater.

Another auction for two remaining parcels in Sleater’s Wye portfolio is expected to happen in the next couple of months.

“We had really good participation (the first two days),” said auctioneer Scott Musser, chief executive officer of Musser Bros., who’s working with Derrick Stricker of Stricker CRE on the Wye auction.

“Buyers are seeing the vision,” Musser said. “For me as a longtime resident, I’ve seen a lot of changes and transformations. I think we’re about to see an abrupt transition in the Richland Wye that’s unprecedented in the Tri-Cities.”

During the first two days of auction in early March, 16 parcels sold to 11 buyers for more than $5 million total. The names of the buyers aren’t public until the sales close, Musser said.

“Numbers and reports will always provide a measure, but in a service industry, the culture of the workplace is critical for continued success. We must rely on our people.”

-Letisha Peterson, general manager, Legends

Photo by Jamie Council

mixed-use urban community at 650 George

Boise-based company buys longtime Richland office furniture shop

By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz

Office supply needs were a bit different back in 1946, when Brutzman’s Office Solutions first opened in the Tri-Cities. Remington Rand typewriters were an early focus, for example.

But the company’s commitment to its customers and the community hasn’t changed, even as it’s grown, adapted and transformed over the last 77 years.

And that commitment will remain as the family-owned business changes hands, the new owner said.

The Brutzmans recently sold to Freeform, a Boise-based commercial interiors company. Terms of the March 1 sale were not disclosed.

“We greatly appreciate having the Bruztman family’s trust that we’ll take care of their customers and continue their legacy in the Tri-Cities market,” said Jeff Heath, chief executive officer for Freeform. “We’re really excited to get embedded and start building those lifelong relationships and help companies thrive in the Tri-Cities.”

Ken Brutzman, whose grandfather, Hal,

founded Brutzman’s Office Solutions, also praised the move. For years, Ken has run the business with his sister, Kathy, and his brother, Keith.

“It’s handing off a legacy. I’ve been at it and my family’s been at it for a long time.

To be able to transition in such a positive (way) going forward makes my heart feel good,” he said.

While Brutzman’s started as a typewriter and office supply company, its main focus for about the last 20 years has been as a contract furniture dealer, with a $5 million annual sales line.

That fit well with Freeform’s focus, and acquisition discussions began a few years ago, before being delayed by the pandemic. Brutzman’s employees will stay on with Freeform, which will transition the Richland store to its branding in the coming months.

The Brutzman family is keeping its large format print operation.

Like Brutzman’s, Freeform – formerly Business Interiors of Idaho – is familyowned. The Heath family has known and worked with the Brutzmans for decades.

The Boise-based company took on the name Freeform after a merger with a

Encouraging engineering

Spokane firm last year. The acquisition of Brutzman’s Office Solutions links Freeform’s Spokane and Boise operations and will mean increased efficiencies and savings that will be passed onto customers, Heath said.

Freeform is a company of “furniture geeks” with a passion for making spaces for “people, culture and communities to thrive,” its website says. It has an extensive

The Journal of Business has confirmed that one of the buyers is Bruce Ratchford, founder and CEO of Apollo Mechanical Contractors. The purchase isn’t related to that business.

Ratchford’s son, Ryan, said the five parcels along Columbia Park Trail between Carolina and Dakota avenues that his father is buying are a good investment, but there are no development plans at this time. The land includes SagePort Grille and a market, which are staying put at the moment.

Jim Clifford, right, a Washington River Protection Solutions chemical engineer, works with fourth-graders on an engineering activity at White Bluffs Elementary School in Richland. The event was one of several Hanford Engineers Week demonstrations in area schools between Feb. 21-27. Engineers and other volunteers from the following Hanford site contractors participated: WRPS, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, Bechtel National, Hanford Laboratory Management and Integration, Central Plateau Cleanup Company and HPMC Occupational Health Services.

The two remaining Wye parcels to be sold are general business properties on either side of Fowler Street, generally bounded by Nevada and Louisiana avenues and Helena Street.

Sleater, a grocer, firefighter and fire commissioner and real estate owner, died in 2019, leaving behind property that included 18 parcels totaling 10

commercial, education, government, health care and multifamily portfolio, and it offers services from commercial space planning and design to ergonomic office furniture specification to architectural products and elements selection, and more. The company says it’s the only B Corp-certified furniture dealer in the world.

Search Brutzman’s Office Solutions is at 2501 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Richland.

acres in the Richland Wye, which is an area stretching east of Columbia Center Boulevard to Highway 240 along the Yakima River Delta.

The property has a variety of zoning, including commercial limited business, general business, waterfront, medium density residential, and business and commerce.

The area seems poised for transformation, with some significant investments made or in the works in recent years, from the Port of Kennewick’s Spaulding Business Park a decade ago to the new Fable casual family restaurant in the offing from John Bookwalter, the Richland winemaker and restaurateur, in the former R.F. McDougall’s Irish Pub & Eatery.

The city of Richland also spent $5 million on upgraded streets, sidewalks and other infrastructure in the area.

WYE AUCTION, From page A1

Courtesy Richland School District

Photo courtesy Freeform

Freeform, a Boise-based commercial interiors company, acquired Brutzman’s Office Solutions at 2501 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Richland.

different model from the other restaurants.

and 20% for men. Also on offer is decor, beauty, accessories and gift items.

509-737-8778

able downtown,” said Mandy Wallner, economic development manager for the city of Richland.

A few different options crossed the table for the site, including a popular proposal for a public market in 2017. However, the city decided to sell the property to Mark Lambert, president of the Chicago-based Crown Group, to develop Park Place.

“We will have a walk- and pick-up window or place an order on a mobile platform,” John Lastoskie said. “When we first open, it might only be vehicles. We’re figuring it out as we go.”

“We’re experimenting,” said Kania who has been a nurse in the area for over two decades, “but we appreciate quality over quantity.” Nickolaus works in the beauty industry.

Pratt Construction is the general contractor.

Lastoskie said that the success of the other locations, including at Park Place, has allowed this expansion.

Spokane-based Prodigy Property Management oversees the day-to-day management and apartment leases, while Lambert manages the retail spaces.

Paul Read Group Publisher 509-344-1262 paul@tcjournal.biz

Kristina Lord Executive Editor 509-344-1261 kristina@tcjournal.biz

Sara Schilling Reporter 509-344-1286 sara@tcjournal.biz

Tiffany Lundstrom Associate Publisher for Sales  509-344-1271 tiffany@tcjournal.biz

Chad Utecht Advertising Account Manager 509-344-1274 chad@tcjournal.biz

Vanessa Guzmán Production Manager 509-344-1278 vanessa@tcjournal.biz

Erin Landon Business Assistant 509-344-1285 erin@tcjournal.biz

STAFF –– UPCOMING –

“Park Place supports our long-term strategy,” Wallner said. “It’s fantastic when it comes together, especially after questions of if commercial spaces would come back. I’m glad to see the plan was successful.”

Villa has been a part of the project since construction and says filling the retail space hasn’t been a challenge, but rather finding the right retailers.

She said they sought retailers who complemented the urban living experience.

“Because our parking lot is on the smaller side, we wanted retail tenants that had office hours that flowed with the working hours of our tenants. That was the hold up of leasing them out,” Villa said.

Villa said Lambert turned down multiple prospective tenants, holding tight to the original vision for the property. Meet the retailers

Tulipe’s neighbor, Graze – A Place to Eat, was the first tenant to sign a fiveyear lease.

Owned by John and Rebecca Lastoskie, Graze is a popular lunch spot that debuted in Walla Walla in 2009. It now has additional locations in Kennewick and Park Place in Richland.

The sandwich shop at 610 George Washington Way moved from the nearby Parkway retail area in May 2021.

The owners said it was a good move.

“It’s been great,” said John Lastoskie. “It has better access with parking and visibility than the Parkway location. It’s a win for customers, really.”

It’s a win for Graze as well, as it plans to open a new restaurant in Kennewick the first week of June.

It is under construction at 131 N. Ely St., the former China Cafe spot in Kennewick. It will be a drive-thru only, a

– CORRECTION –

Mailing address: 8524 W. Gage Blvd., #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336 tcjournal.biz The

“We hope we keep doing an all right job,” he laughed.

Popcorn Northwest, at 624 George Washington Way, opened its first brick and mortar last October at Park Place. It’s locally-owned by Jeramy Schultz, who has been in the kettle corn business since 2004 and got his start with vendor tents at Howard Amon. The business sells popcorn, caramel apples and other seasonal sweet treats.

Fleet Feet, a custom shoe shop, recently opened at 620 George Washington Way. The Richland franchise is owned by Spokane-based couple Julie and Wade Pannell.

“Being located right by the riverfront trails, many of our residents and community members are in need of running shoes and apparel,” Villa said. “For Popcorn Northwest, many of our apartment residents were already familiar with their vendor booth at Howard Amon.”

A Fleet Feet staffer said the store was busier than they planned, which was a good problem to have.

Of the six retail spaces along the GWay corridor, Graze and Fleet Feet occupy double suites for their kitchen and stock room, respectively.

Tulipe, pronounced “two-leap,” is owned by two working-class women: Pasco native Kelli Kania and Sunnyside native Heather Nickolaus.

“This is a brand new shop we dreamed up about a year and a half ago, and we decided to take the plunge. The shop was inspired by my friend Heather and I to bring people back to brick and mortar shopping – creating an experience of all the senses: sight, smell, touch and communication,” Kania said.

With a whimsical and classic vibe, about 80% of the clothing is for women

“When we found this space, Mark helped us from the very beginning,” Kania said. “We had a really good fit with the space and the community. We call them our Tulipe angels.”

Park Place’s lower-level storefronts are leased by Studio Paloma, which provides permanent make-up, tanning and waxing services, and Sweet Spot Hair Salon.

Studio Paloma opened October 2022 and Sweet Spot is expected to open this summer.

“It’s nice that our residents can just take an elevator down and have access to beauty locations,” Villa said. “That was always the plan to have retail on GWay as well as down below.”

However, the original plan was to have four retail spaces on the river-facing side of the building.

Plans quickly changed. Studio Paloma took two spaces and the property converted one space to tenant storage due to high demand from the residents. Creating a close community

Park Place’s urban living and community-based focus has helped attract retailers and residents.

“This community is very close,” Villa said. “We have a social community group. We market to businesses to our residents and they are super excited about who’s moving in. It’s helped us maintain a high occupancy.”

Park Place opened its doors in April 2022 and finished leasing the building by summertime, with a waiting list for about six months. Now with leases ending, they say they have a rotating door with occupancies every month that are filled.

Go to: parkplacerichland.com.

PARK PLACE, From page A1

Transit extends service to east Pasco, Amazon warehouses

Ben Franklin Transit has extended Pasco’s Route 64 service to include the new Amazon warehouses, as well as the communities of Tierra Vida and Lakeview near Highway 12 in Pasco.

The service, which launched March 12, will provide greater access to public transportation for both east Pasco residents and those commuting to the new Amazon facilities.

“We have partnered with Amazon to make transit services available to their employees as soon as the facilities are up and running,” said BFT General Manager Rachelle Glazier in a statement.

Lamb Weston completes purchase of Meijer

Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LW) recently completed its purchase of the remaining equity interests in its European joint venture with Meijer Frozen Foods B.V.

The final transaction consideration consisted of $525 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, and more than 1.9 million shares of Lamb Weston common stock.

The company, based in Eagle, Idaho, announced its intent to purchase the interest in October 2022.

Lamb Weston now owns 100% of Lamb-Weston/Meijer, which formerly operated as a 50-50 joint venture between a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lamb Weston and Meijer Frozen Foods.

With the acquisition, the company adds an additional five manufacturing facilities to its footprint worldwide, including four facilities in the Netherlands and one in the United Kingdom, as well as a sixth manufacturing facility operated through a 75% interest in a joint venture in Austria.

These facilities produce nearly 2 billion pounds of finished frozen products annually.

Lamb Weston operates frozen potato plants as well as storage facilities throughout the Mid-Columbia and has research facilities in Richland and corporate offices in Kennewick.

Women of Distinction nominations due March 20

The deadline for nominations for the Washington State University Tri-Cities Women of Distinction Awards is March 20.

The award recognizes campus and community members who have made notable contributions to WSU Tri-Cities through service, teaching or involvement.

The award is presented to five people each year.

WSU Tri-Cities will host an award ceremony April 20 at the WSU Tri-Cities Art Center to honor the winners, as well as those nominated for the award.

The Women of Distinction Stories Exhibit highlighting previous members will be on display April 20-27.

To submit a nomination and for more information, go to: tricities.wsu.edu/womenof-distinction.

Send goat to a favorite business to help nonprofit

The Wishing Star Foundation will be delivering baby goats for visits within the Tri-City community April 10-14.

A $75 donation to the nonprofit enables members of the community to have fun with unsuspecting friends, family or colleagues by having a real baby goat delivered to offices or businesses on the day and time of their choice.

The recipient who has been “goated” will be asked to donate any amount to pay for the removal of the four-legged kid.

Anyone can sign up to deliver a goat, or they can buy $100 “goat insurance” to prevent a surprise visit by going to wishingstar.org/events/goats.

Wishing Star provides wishes to children who are terminal or battling a life-

threatening illness in Spokane, Tri-Cities and Kootenai counties.

Scholarships for CTE students now open

Washington’s top career and technical education (CTE) students may apply for a scholarship that can help them pay for up to two years of college.

The Washington Award for Vocational Excellence is a merit-based award that helps undergraduate students pay for tuition and other costs at Washington colleges, universities or private career schools.

Top career and technical education students at both the high school and community and technical college level are eligible to apply.

These students study marine science, automotive technology, advanced manu-

facturing, information technology, agriculture and more.

The scholarship pays up to two years of tuition or other costs. The minimum award is $4,500 per year for up to two years, or $9,000. The maximum award is $11,700 per year for up to two years, or $23,400. Awards may vary depending on where the student goes to school.

As many as 147 students will receive scholarships this year – two high school students, and one community or technical college student from each of Washington’s 49 legislative districts.

To qualify, students must have completed high school or community and technical college career technical education courses.

Entries will be accepted through March 17. To apply and learn more, go to: wtb. wa.gov/wave.

MARCH 16

• Building Bridges Networking Event: 5:30-7:30 p.m., Blankslate, 804 Babs Ave., Benton City. Join the Benton City, West Richland, Pasco and Tri-Cities Hispanic chambers for a free networking event.

MARCH 17

• Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce annual dinner: 6-9:30 p.m., Pasco Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave. Cost: $60 per person, $400 for table of eight. Register at tchispanicchamber. com.

• Rascal Rodeo’s ninth annual Honky Tonk Hoedown: 5:30-11:30 p.m., Benton County Fairgrounds, 1500 S. Oak St., Building 2, Kennewick. Tickets at rascalrodeo.org.

MARCH 21

• Pasco Regional Chamber, Business Lender Panel: 11:30 a.m.1 p.m., Pasco Red Lion, 2525 N. 20th Ave, Pasco. Register at bit.ly/ PCCLenderPanel.

• Richland Chamber Luncheon:

DATEBOOK

noon-1 p.m., Three Margaritas, 627 Jadwin Ave., Richland.

MARCH 23

• Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce Annual & Awards Luncheon: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Register at web. tricityregionalchamber.com/events.

• Friends of Scouting Leadership Breakfast: 7 a.m., Pasco Red Lion, 2525 N. 20th Ave, Pasco. Keynote speaker is Steve Largent, former Seattle Seahawks player. Register at bluemountainscouts.org/breakfast.

• Columbia Basin Badger Club, “Badger Forum: Extremists in Our Midst”: noon via Zoom. Register at columbiabasinbadgers. com. Cost is $5 for nonmembers.

• Lecture: “Diamonds in the Rough: The Gentrification of Rural Washington”: 7 p.m., Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland. Jennifer Sherman, a professor of sociology at Washington State University, will explain how “class blindness”

protects those with more privilege from fully recognizing social class inequalities.

MARCH 30

• The Foundation for the Future, Boys and Girls Club Benefit Breakfast: 7:30 a.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Details at greatclubs. org/events/foundation-for-thefuture.

• Virtual Procurement Technical Assistance Center workshop, “Networking Know How” Online Workshop: 9 a.m. Go to: washingtonptac. ecenterdirect.com/events.

APRIL 1

• Leadership Tri-Cities and Domestic Violence Services of Benton & Franklin Counties present Fashion with Compassion: 5:30 p.m., Uptown Theatre, 1300 Jadwin Ave., Richland. Tickets at fashionwithcompassion2023. eventbrite.com.

APRIL 5

• West Richland Area Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon: noon-1:30 p.m., The Mayfield Gathering Place, 331 S. 41st Ave., West Richland. Details at westrichlandchamber.org.

APRIL 12-13

• Bridging Partnerships Small Business Symposium: 8 a.m.5 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Register at web. tricityregionalchamber.com/events.

APRIL 13

• Columbia Basin Badger Club, “Badger Forum: An Insider’s Look at the New Congress: noon via Zoom. Register at columbiabasinbadgers.com. Cost is $5 for nonmembers.

• Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, Business After Hours - Grace Clinic: 4-6 p.m., 800 W. Canal Drive, Kennewick. Networking event for chamber members and their guests. Details at web.tricityregionalchamber.com/ events.

VISIT TCJOURNAL.BIZ AND CLICK ON EVENT CALENDAR FOR MORE EVENTS.

OPINION OUR VIEW

Pandemic amplifies disconnect between region’s business leaders, employees

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Are Tri-City business leaders and employees feeling grim that the region’s business climate isn’t improving?

A recent survey suggests they might be.

Business leaders and employees surveyed in Washington, Oregon and Idaho are becoming increasingly concerned the regional economy isn’t getting better, with 29% of leaders and 44% of employees reporting it has declined or weakened steadily since 2019.

Both groups largely attribute their concern to inflation and supply chain disruptions, according to the 2023 Business in the Northwest report from Washington State University’s Carson College of Business. This year is the survey’s sixth edition.

We’ve written plenty about how these issues are affecting local businesses’ bottom lines, so these results likely won’t come as a surprise.

Several restaurant owners told us in fall 2022 they faced steep price increases for food as well as food shortages. Anyone shopping for groceries also could confirm this.

Throughout the pandemic, supply chain challenges hit many sectors of the economy, from construction and health care, to agriculture, retail and manufacturing.

The WSU survey also highlights a growing disconnect between employers and employees, especially related to wages and benefits.

It’s important to acknowledge them.

Two-thirds of business leaders say they want to create more jobs for their companies but can’t offer competitive compensation.

big or go home on Washington’s housing crisis

As business leaders struggle to provide competitive compensation, they are instead placing greater emphasis on other benefits like flexible work schedules (36%), job security (30%) and manageable workloads (24%).

However, employees don’t share these same priorities.

More than 90% say they want a higher salary, while 37% say they want a more flexible work schedule, the survey noted.

Aside from pay raises, employees would prefer to receive company-paid health insurance (54%), paid retirement programs (35%), and guaranteed severance packages for employees at all levels (16%).

This is different from business leaders, who rank these non-financial benefits the highest: flexible work arrangements (36%), manageable workload (24%) and professional development stipends (14%).

Despite these disconnects it is nice to see that 75% of business leaders and 55% of employees surveyed are optimistic about the future.

These percentages are encouraging but they’re not enough.

To ensure this optimism is justified, it’s critical to promote possible solutions for the issues facing business.

This could involve better collaboration between employers and employees to find creative solutions for compensation and benefits. It also should include advocacy for policies at the local, state and federal levels that support small business and address economic concerns, such as tax incentives for small businesses, simplified regulations and more affordable health care.

Washington’s housing affordability crisis hurts every corner of the state. We’ve all heard stories. Nurses and grocery store employees can’t afford to live where they work. Young people are priced out of their hometowns. First-time homebuyers can’t afford a down payment. Seniors struggle to downsize in retirement.

We need solutions at scale for a crisis this big. Legislators have an opportunity this session to pass a historic package of housing legislation. Bipartisan support is helping move dozens of proposed bills to the finish line.

There’s a theme: We need more houses. All types, all kinds, everywhere and for everyone. We need to encourage more middle housing and speed up permitting for builders. We need more affordable starter homes, like townhouses and condos, and we need more housing near transit. The Association of Washington Business (AWB) supports policies that increase housing supply and opposes policies that would make housing more expensive.

Population growth and historic underbuilding has fueled the state’s affordability crisis, with prices increasing as demand outstrips supply. The state’s rental vacancy rate sits at 4%, below the 7% to 8% considered for a healthy market, according to a January report from Challenge Seattle.

Nearly 1 million Washington households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their monthly income on housing, and the AWB Institute’s Vitals dashboard shows that more than 22% of renters spend 50% or more of income on rent. Lower- and middleincome households are more likely to fall in this category and are often forced to

choose between important necessities.

Buying a home in Washington is becoming increasingly out of reach. More than 85% of households don’t make enough to afford an average priced home, with median homebuyers needing at least $38,000 to close. On average, renters have just $1,500 in the bank.

Kris Johnson Association of Washington Business GUEST COLUMN

The housing crisis is connected to the workforce shortage that many employers are facing. Many of our most common jobs, like administrators, sales and food prep employees, are most in need of affordable housing. Yet the gap between their wages and higher paid occupations is widening.

Housing is a top policy issue for 37% of the state’s employers, affecting their ability to recruit and keep employees. According to AWB’s 2023 Competitiveness Redbook, Washington has many competitive advantages for businesses, but we consistently rank as one of the most expensive areas in the country.

The Washington State Department of Commerce estimates we need to build between 20,000 and 71,000 housing units every year for the next 30 years to keep up with population growth, and according to the Challenge Seattle report, “Washington may need up to 2.5 million homes by 2050 to create a healthy housing market.”

Busting the maze of phone prompts is good customer service

There is no substitute for person-toperson connections – people talking with, listening to and understanding one another. It is called “customer service,” and it is the best way to resolve problems and retain customers.

Those employed and embedded in business are more likely to be located on-site, frequently see fellow workers and suppliers, and better understand the products and services. They are part of local communities.

So, whatever happened to people answering phones and directing callers to fellow staff members who can help resolve issues? Isn’t it better to have someone in your organization answering the phone and directing calls for assistance?

Yes, but it is more costly. Given the shortage of workers, receptionist positions are harder to fill. Outsourcing to call cen-

ters has become an alternative.

Call centers are not new. They have been around for years; however, now they are more sophisticated.

Too often customer service is relegated to answering machines connected to computers programed with mazes of “phone prompts.” They are designed to keep callers from talking to people.

Just try to escape the maze and reach someone directly. Breaking into the goldholding vaults at Ft. Knox is easier than circumventing a computer gatekeeper.

The global contact center market amounted to almost $340 billion (U.S. dollars) in 2020. “The industry was expected to grow steadily in the following years to reach a value of $496 billion by 2027,” Statista.com reported.

The Site Selection Group says call centers which employ more than 2,000 people tend to cluster in larger U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of more than 1 million. Lower operation costs in Dallas, Jacksonville, Phoenix, San Antonio and Tampa attract massive operations. No city in Washington, Oregon or California made the Top 20.

While the U.S. houses many large call centers, other places such as India, Great Britain, Brazil and the Philippines are strong competitors. In past years, India attracted the most call center investment. That trend is changing.

“It is worth noting that the Philippines overtook India as the top call center in the world in terms of expansion and revenues. The country call center industry steadily expands as much as 30% a year, compared to 10%-15% per year in India,” Magellan Solutions reports.

Philippine-based Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO), a fancy name for call centers, helps in generating 1.3 million direct jobs. “Not only that, but the industry also helped to create 4.08 million indirect jobs. It also promotes countryside development, producing 280,000 jobs in 23 provinces.”

Why the Philippines? According to Magellan Solutions, the top reasons are it has a 98.18% literacy rate, friendly government policies and neutral accent. “Cost is

It’s time to go

Don C. Brunell Business analyst GUEST COLUMN

Take advantage of free tax prep with AARP

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide sites are now open and ready to help prepare and e-file personal tax returns for the first time in three years.

The free tax service is available to all taxpayers. AARP membership is not required.

The service includes federal personal tax returns as well as the new Washington Working Family Tax Credit.

Tax-Aide is operating through April 18.

Here’s a list of where to get assistance:

• Mid-Columbia Libraries, Kennewick

branch, 1620 S. Union St., Kennewick: noon to 4 p.m. Thursday. Appointments required: Call 509-542-7960.

• Mid-Columbia Libraries Keewaydin Park branch, 405 S. Dayton St., Kennewick: 12:15 p.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday; 12:15 p.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Appointments required: Call 509-542-7960.

• Mid-Columbia Libraries, Pasco branch, 1320 W. Hopkins St., Pasco: noon-4 p.m. Wednesday.

• Richland Community Center: 500 Amon Park Drive, Richland: 8:30 a.m.8 p.m. Monday; 8:30 a.m.-noon Tuesday; 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday. Appointments required: Call 509-542-7960.

• Pasco City Hall Activity Center, 525 N. Third Ave., Pasco: 8:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Appointments required: Call 509-542-7960.

• Burbank Library, 875 Lake Road, Burbank: 10:15 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday. Appointments not required.

In addition to in-person tax preparation, Tax-Aide also is providing a new option for taxpayers to prepare their own taxes. Alternative Tax Preparation is aimed at taxpayers who would prefer to prepare their taxes, using their own computers.

In addition to free online software, Tax-Aide-certified counselors will be

available to assist in preparing and filing tax returns electronically.

To participate in this new program, taxpayers need to be computer savvy and have an internet connection. Counselors provide assistance using online interactive software. Those interested can get more information at taxaideqa.aarp.org/ hc/en-us.

In 2021, more than 820,000 taxpayers (23,000 in Washington) using AARP Foundation Tax-Aide services received more than $892 million ($28 million in Washington) in income tax refunds. The service is offered in conjunction with the IRS.

We need policies that increase affordable housing in the short- and long-term. AWB urges lawmakers to pass a bipartisan housing package – and Washingtonians need it passed this year – that includes bills that encourage “missing middle” housing and condos and for more accessory dwelling units.

Housing has long been a priority in Olympia. What’s different this year is the urgency, bipartisan collaboration and willingness to embrace statewide solutions.

We need to go big on housing – so all Washingtonians can go home.

Kris Johnson is president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturers association.

not a problem. Because of the low cost of living in the country, businesses can save 60% to 80% of operational costs.”

Organizations that are great at sales too often rely on computers to “dial-up” prospects. If someone happens to answer the phone, there is a slight delay and a lively, perky salesperson comes online to initiate the pitch. They instantly become your best friend.

Once sale is consummated, the whole ball game changes. Prospects become “customers” and go into “phone prompt” hell. Our best buddy is off cajoling another prospect.

Successful organizations place as much emphasis on customer service as they do on sales. They are constantly improving products, quickly solving problems and measuring how their products or services are working. If there is a problem, they want to know immediately and not put customers through the old washing machine ringer to find out.

The sale is the beginning, not the end, of customer service and retention. Since transactions are increasingly online, avoiding “phone prompt” hell is job one.

Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer, and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.

JOHNSON, From page A7

BRUNELL, From page A7

The change sent new construction costs skyrocketing.

“Instead of four gas-fired furnaces, we are looking at 27 heat pumps. It raised (the cost) quite a bit … we had to reevaluate and look at the loan. The energy portion of it was almost $1 million with the heat pumps,” Sexton said.

It wasn’t an easy case to make to their lender, so it was back to the drawing board.

Though the Sextons planned to heat the marketplace with natural gas, they also had integrated into their plans small-scale wind and a 150-by-65-foot solar rooftop array to generate some power for the facility.

“With the furnaces – which are 98% efficient – the solar alone was going to generate 38% of our energy, but new calculations have dropped it to 7% because that’s how much electricity the heat pumps would use,” he said.

Osprey Pointe isn’t sunk though.

The Sextons are participating in an energy audit program to help identify ways to cut costs through additional energy-efficient features.

They also have hired a Seattle-based energy consultant, as well as a solar and wind engineer who are working with the audit team to determine solutions.

“We think we can still create 70% of the power on site,” Sexton said. Their goal is for the facility to be net zero and Energy Star-certified.

Wanting to do it right

He said they have heard a lot of doubt about the project from the community.

“Yes, it’s taking too long, but I only have one chance to do this,” he said. “People don’t realize that we now have plans for where everything goes – every electrical outlet, sewer, water, wind power – all of it.”

At press time, Sexton was waiting on approval for his permit for off-site sewer and water.

“It feels like nothing’s happening, but behind the scenes there is massive amounts

of stuff going on,” he said.

Soon, there will be more visible activity.

With the marketplace specs under revision, the Sextons have pivoted to two highefficiency mixed-use apartment buildings they believe will anchor the future marketplace.

They didn’t take the easy road there either.

Each building will be four stories high, with up to six suites of commercial space on the ground floor and three stories of residential units above for a total of 18 units per building.

The units will be 1,450 square feet, featuring three bedrooms, one bathroom, laundry and a 6-by-7-foot storage unit.

Two parking spaces will be allotted for each unit underground beneath the building and fully secured by a gated entry. There also will be a mail room and exercise room on the ground floor.

Rent will be between $2,500 to $2,800. Sexton said he and his wife see the need for affordable housing in the area, so will be buying the land from the port as they develop it.

The project is projected to cost nearly $14 million.

The commercial space in one of the buildings is already leased and will be home to two restaurants, a hair salon, yoga studio and the JMS Construction office, which is currently located in another building on site.

Sexton hopes to break ground in a few weeks.

He said the city of Pasco had to rewrite its building codes to accommodate the unprecedented mixed-use development and create a new zoning classification: Waterfront District Zone.

A new waterfront vision

The buildings challenge the status quo in the Tri-Cities.

A future hotel Sexton has planned will rise eight stories above the Pasco horizon. There also will be five seven-story buildings.

Buildings four stories and above must have an elevator, per code. Eight stories require two.

“We don’t even have an elevator company in Tri-Cities,” Sexton said.

“I can design a house or building in six months … but when I have to get a fire suppression system up in eight stories of one building and make sure the city water

lines are big enough to get to the top of the first building, or the second, it takes a lot of time for the engineers to go figure that out and go back and forth with the city,” he said.

In short, it’s hard to be among the first.

“At this point, we’ve got too much into it not to follow through,” Sexton said.

To finance the project, the Sextons have had to get creative and pull money from multiple sources: personal funds, the bank, hard money lenders and also an opportunity fund.

Osprey Pointe is designated as an opportunity zone – typically low-income communities and neighboring areas determined by population census records that would benefit from economic stimulus and revitalization.

Tax incentives exist for those who invest in opportunity zones, including no taxation on the appreciation of investment funds held beyond 10 years.

“When doing projects like this, you really have to think about, ‘How am I going to come up with $250 million?’ ” Sexton said.

Once the apartment complex is completed, he said they will move on to the 70 detached condos planned for the west side of the property.

The hope is to break ground on the marketplace along the way.

“Every day we get calls from prospective vendors. Our list is 350 long of interested people,” he said. The marketplace can accommodate 120.

As he wrote in the March 2022 Osprey Pointe Marketplace newsletter, “We’re completely committed to bringing this vision to life – all of it. We are both locals and we’re tired of driving out of town for concerts and adventures. Our area is full of life and growing so why can’t we have those activities here?”

It’s a question Osprey Pointe seems poised to answer.

Go to: jmstricities.com; portofpasco. org/our-properties/osprey-point.

Courtesy JMS Construction

Though plans for an indoor marketplace at Osprey Pointe are on hold to find a cost-effective solution for its heating system, James Sexton, owner of JMS Construction, is forging ahead to develop the waterfront site in Pasco.

Need to hire for entry-level positions? Try the KSD job fair

Businesses needing to hire entry-level positions can participate in the Kennewick School District’s upcoming Student Job Fair.

The job fair runs from 6-8 p.m. April 19 at Kennewick High School.

The event focuses on connecting local businesses with students seeking parttime, full-time or summer positions.

Goals for this event include connecting graduating seniors who want to move directly into the workforce with businesses that have entry-level positions and opportunities for growth, and helping younger students gain work experience with part-time or summer employment opportunities.

Interested in hosting a table and participating? Go to: bit.ly/KSDjobfair.

Tickets on sale to celebrate Tri-Citian of the Year

Celebrate the Tri-Cities’ top civic leader during the Tri-Citian of the Year Award program.

Tickets are on sale for the annual event.

The award will be announced April 27 during a dinner program at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick. Tickets to attend cost $75.

The keynote speaker is Sylvester “Syl” Neal, past president of Kiwanis International who spent his career in public service as a firefighter, airport security

chief and state fire marshal.

The Tri-Citian of the Year award exemplifies the highest standards of community service and leadership. The nomination deadline was March 10.

Last year’s winner was Mark Brault, the volunteer chief executive officer for Grace Clinic, who was honored for his decades of community service to several nonprofits in the region.

The award is sponsored by the six Rotary clubs and five Kiwanis clubs in the Tri-Cities.

Go to: tricitianoftheyear.com.

State’s universal masking requirements to end April 3

The universal state masking requirements in health care, long-term care and adult correctional facilities ends April 3.

Covid-19, RSV and influenza disease rates and hospitalizations have continued to decline since the end of last year, state health official said.

The state Department of Health infection prevention and control guidance continues to recommend masks for patients, health care providers and visitors in health care settings.

Local or tribal governments, facilities and providers may choose to continue to require masks in these or other settings.

Several worker protection requirements enforced by the state’s Department of Labor & Industries remain in effect, including that employees and contractors may choose to use face masks or other personal protective equipment on the job without employer retaliation.

Additionally, under the state Health Emergency Labor Standards Act rules, several key worker protections remain in place until the federal pandemic response declaration ends May 11.

Pasco seeks grants for proposed Road 76 overpass

The city of Pasco has announced it is seeking grants to build a Road 76 overpass, a project estimated to cost $22.8 million.

The project would provide a way for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians to cross Interstate 182 between Burden and Chapel Hill boulevards.

The city said the proposed project will help to relieve congestion on the Road 68 corridor and provide pedestrians and bicyclists with a safe connection across I-182.

The city is pursuing funding opportunities at the private, city, state and federal levels and plans to advance this project to design, right-of-way acquisition and construction as soon as the funding is secured.

A link to an interactive comment map (bit.ly/Rd76Overpass) shows how community members can share their thoughts about the project.

Applicants sought to serve on Pasco School Board

Applications are now available to Pasco School District residents interested in serving the unexpired term for board position No. 1 through November 2023.

Potential board members must live in the Pasco School District, be a United States citizen and a registered voter. This

is a volunteer and unpaid position.

The district boundary map can be found on the district’s school board elections website.

Applications are available by filling out the electronic submission form at psd1.org/boardapplication. Completed applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. March 24.

Tickets on sale for new Umatilla music festival

Tickets are on sale for the Rock the Locks Music Festival in Umatilla, Oregon.

The three-day festival is held Oct. 6-8 at the Big River Golf Course, 709 Willamette St., in Umatilla.

The event will feature ZZ Top, Collective Soul and Night Ranger, along with rockers Hinder, original Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate, Ozomatli, Everclear, Royal Bliss, Winger, and David Cook, winner of season 7 of “American Idol,” and more.

Rock the Locks Music Festival is a three-day music festival bringing together thousands of music lovers to enjoy more than 25 bands on two stages.

Festival attendees will have plenty of on-site amenities to enhance their experience including over 30 food and merchandise vendors, on-site camping, a general store and beer gardens.

General admission, camping and VIP tickets are on sale. Go to: rockthelocks. org.

529 college saving accounts now can be converted into Roth IRAs

Transferring wealth to children will become a touch easier in 2024.

Buried in the estimated 4,000-page Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2023 that passed at the end of 2022 was the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022.

It heralded many changes for the retirement system in the United States. One provision dealing with 529 accounts contained under Section 126 of the act allows parents an option for funding a child’s retirement account.

But first some background is in order.

What is a 529 account?

A 529 account is a state-sponsored tax-advantaged investment account that has been around for decades and is so named because it was created under 26 USC 529.

It allows a person (parents and grandparents, generally) to make cash contributions to a 529 plan that is then invested.

The account can grow tax-free and can be distributed from the account to pay qualified educational expenses free from federal income tax. The 529 account contributions are generally invested in an investment account (a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds, mutual funds, or Exchange Traded Funds).

For decades, 529 plans have been an excellent choice for families to begin saving for college, and their popularity has grown over time.

What is a Roth IRA?

A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account where a person contributes aftertax money into the account. The assets grow tax free and then can be distributed tax free if specific conditions are met (generally, at least 59.5 years of age).

To contribute, the account owner must have earned income (or a spouse who has earned income) and fall under the IRS income limits for Roth IRA contributions (high income earners may not be able to contribute directly to Roth IRAs).

If that criteria is met, a person can contribute the greater of their annual salary or up to the annual limit set by the IRS.

What does this mean for parents now?

Before the new Secure 2.0, parents had to consider the chances that a child would attend college and estimate (or guess) the total amount necessary to fund that college education.

If money was left in the 529 account either because the student didn’t attend higher education or didn’t fully spend

it for a variety of reasons (e.g., scholarships, less schooling, overestimated costs, etc.), the parent had few options.

The parent could transfer the account to a relative for that relative to use for higher education, but that was about the only choice if they wanted to avoid non-qualified distributions that could result in penalties.

Now, the new law allows another option for parents. Under the Secure 2.0 Act, 529 funds can potentially be contributed to a Roth IRA for the benefit of the same beneficiary of the 529 account.

Transfer rules

According to Secure 2.0, the rollover to a Roth IRA from a qualified tuition program is available only after the 529 account has been maintained for a 15year period ending on the date of the distribution.

The distribution from the 529 to the Roth IRA has several other limitations as well.

First, the amount rolled into the IRA can’t exceed the aggregate amount contributed to the 529 account before the five-year period ending on the date of distribution.

Effectively this means that the monies must have been contributed at least five years before distribution.

So, a person can’t, for example, have a 529 open for 15 years, then add $35,000 at the last minute and distribute to the beneficiary’s Roth IRA.

Second, all distributions must be direct trustee to trustee transfers from the 529 to the Roth IRA and are limited to the annual contribution limit for Roth IRAs ($6,500 for 2023) as well as the total lifetime amount of $35,000.

This means to achieve the aggregate limitation, the individual would transfer the maximum amount per year (currently $6,500) for six years (with a smaller amount in the sixth year).

Importantly, the contributions to the Roth from the 529 account are not subject to the same income limitation as are regular Roth IRA contributions (the income limitation on Roth IRAs discussed above).

Perhaps more important than skirting income limitations, it allows a beneficiary to redirect excess funds to other retirement vehicles (like a 401(k) plan) while still fully funding his or her Roth IRA from the 529 distributions.

The law allows qualifying distributions from 529 accounts to Roth IRAs to start in 2024. If you have a 529 account with excess funds left over, talk to your professional team to see if this is a good option for distribution to the account beneficiary’s Roth IRA.

Beau Ruff, a licensed attorney and certified financial planner, is the director of planning at Cornerstone Wealth Strategies, a full-service independent investment management and financial planning firm in Kennewick.

Kevin McClure

Store Manager

Hometown | Richland

Beau Ruff Cornerstone Wealth Strategies GUEST COLUMN

The robots will serve you now

By Kristina Lord kristina@tcjournal.biz

We thought we’d enlist the help of ChatGPT to help us summarize this story about the trends in hospitality technology. After all, artificially intelligent robots soon could be checking us into hotel rooms and providing housekeeping services.

For the non-tech savvy, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot that can answer questions with human-like responses.

We asked it to provide a 300-word introduction to this story and here’s what it spit out:

Over the past decade, the hospitality industry has undergone a significant transformation with the advent of technology. From check-in and room service to personalized recommendations and loyalty programs, technology has disrupted the traditional ways of providing customer service in hotels and resorts.

As we move forward into a post-pandemic world, the demand for contactless solutions and digital experiences has further accelerated the adoption of hospitality technology. In this article, we will explore the latest trends in hospitality technology and how they are reshaping

the guest experience.

Not too bad, ChatGPT, but let’s let the human industry experts weigh in on this topic.

Four leaders in the hospitality field recently discussed how technology is evolving as part of Washington State University’s School of Hospitality Business Management’s Hospitality Week program.

They covered automation, tech infrastructure, AI, chatbots and ways technology can help to streamline operations and improve customer service.

And because technology was the main

theme, an AI-enhanced robot also participated on the panel.

At first, the speakers appeared to be upstaged by the robot with a human-like face projected onto a head shape.

“My purpose is to make technology more human by communicating the way people communicate with each other,” the robot told the audience in a smooth, friendly voice.

But it began to get glitchy and couldn’t quite answer questions correctly.

“I’m sorry. I am having trouble with

uHOSPITALITY TECH, Page A13

the internet,” it kept repeating during the demonstration.

The audience – mostly college students – was amused by repeated attempts to get it back on task.

Demo aborted, the spotlight returned to the humans.

The robots are coming

Chad Mackay, founder and chief executive officer of Brigado, a Seattle hospitality-focused technology company, said the pandemic forced tech changes many businesses weren’t prepared for.

“We got dragged into being technology companies way more than we’d ever been before,” he said, pointing out that restaurants had to integrate how to manage to-go orders and delivery systems while being shut down.

“Now as we emerge from that, how do we manage that channel without killing your restaurant inside?” he said.

Automation could be one way.

Dogan Gursoy believes the robots are coming – and that AI will reshape the entire hospitality industry.

He’s the Taco Bell distinguished professor in hospitality business management at WSU’s School of Hospitality Business Management and the editor of the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management.

He said though there aren’t too many robots in the U.S. hospitality industry right now, overseas is a different story.

“If you travel to Asia, you will see a lot more robots operating, running around, delivering food, taking orders and doing a whole bunch of different stuff. The indus-

try is changing rapidly,” he said.

Gursoy told the students in the audience who plan to go into the hospitality field to be prepared for this. “You guys need to change with the times and get ready to work with these machines. ... They will probably be your co-workers,” he said.

The robots can provide interaction at a price significantly lower than “what we’re all paying for employees,” Gursoy said.

“Most of the repetitive jobs I’m guessing they’ll be done by these, and we are seeing this more and more often.”

Does this mean we’ll see robots serving up food in fine-dining restaurants anytime soon?

“I’m hoping not,” said Mackay, who serves on the WSU School of Hospitality Business Management Advisory Board.

He said finding ways to automate is important though.

“If you get us a robot dishwasher, I’m all in,” he said.

“Anything that might save backs or L&I claims, those are areas we are going to look to for automation. I’m hoping that people will still want human interaction,” he said.

Rebooting tech projects

All the tech projects paused during the pandemic are back online, said John Shepard, Marriott International’s vice president of application delivery – business service desk.

He said shutdowns crippled the hospitality industry, with furloughs and empty rooms, and it suffered from tech debt.

Much of industry’s tech systems are beyond their life cycle, unsupported and

hard to manage and maintain, Shepard said. The push to modernize them is here, he said.

“Whatever investments were queued up in 2019, did not get executed in 2020, or ’21, or really ’22, so now the planning and re-planning has come back around to reinvest back into these businesses and that’s very true with Marriott,” he said.

Marriott is investing $2.3 billion to consolidate the technologies from its collection of properties to build a tech future for the company that is consistent and predictable, he said.

“It’s very modern tech and there’s a lot of planning to get there and I see that across a lot of other organizations,” Shepard said.

Wanted: more tech staff

Mike Sackville-West oversees the technology departments for the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the Podium, and the future Downtown Spokane Stadium.

He said as the pandemic forced upgrades at his facilities to provide a cashless, contactless customer service model so people could order food on their phone and then pick it up later at the counter. Many clients also wanted to stream events so their venue systems needed significant upgrades, Sackville-West said.

The improvements come at a price, he said. There’s a growing need for additional staff to manage all the new technology.

“Before the pandemic, we had between all our properties, maybe six to seven fulltime employees, and we’re probably two to three times that now,” he said.

State hospitality grants now available

The Washington State Department of Commerce announced plans to award $100 million in hospitality and lodging grants.

The program will award one-time grants to eligible restaurants, hotels, motels and other small hospitality businesses in the state that were negatively impacted by the Covid-19 public health crisis.

Grants are for hospitality and lodging businesses including restaurants, food stands, trucks, carts, caterers, breweries, microbreweries, wineries, distilleries, hotels, motels or similar establishments, and other hospitality organizations.

Interested applicants can subscribe for updates to receive more information about this funding opportunity when it becomes available.

Go to: wahospitalitygrants.com.

Hospitality association to provide industry talk

The Washington Hospitality Association’s will provide a “State of the Industry” virtual event at 10 a.m. March 22.

Guests include Jenn Pickett of Wenspok Companies and Patrick Yearout of Ivar’s & Kidd Valley Restaurants.

Other industry experts and operators will participate to provide a look at labor trends and the Clean Buildings Act. Go to: bit.ly/WHAvirtualevent.

Kennewick-based company renovates historic hotel

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa in Hood River, Oregon, recently unveiled its new look after a multimillion-dollar renovation.

The 42-room property is managed by A-1 Hospitality Group of Kennewick, and the historic renovations were completed by InnSpace of Kalispell, Montana.

The four-story hotel is at 4000 Westcliff Drive in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.

“We are thrilled to have completed a full restoration of the Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa. The hotel was originally built in 1920 and one of our main priorities was finding a way to provide a refresh while preserving the historic integrity of the hotel,” said Taran Patel, managing principal of A-1 Hospitality Group, in a news release. “We look forward to welcoming all of our past and future guests to share the new enhanced experience.”

The hotel offers riverside or gardenside rooms and king-sized beds.

Riverside rooms offer views of the Columbia River while garden-side rooms feature views of Pacific Northwest gardens.

All rooms offer 55” flat-panel televisions and air conditioning, and deluxe rooms are equipped with fireplaces.

“InnSpace is honored to be involved in a project at such an iconic resort in Hood River,” said Russell Markham, director of design and procurement at InnSpace. “The renovation design complements the history of the building to create a memorable space for guests who desire a cultured experience with a feel of a bygone era, deep in the woods of Oregon.”

Morning coffee is available daily in the lobby and guest services include a full-service spa, four meeting rooms, wedding venues, the award-winning Simon’s Cliffhouse Restaurant, the Valentino Lounge and an outdoor terrace for dining and drinks.

Go to: ColumbiaGorgeHotel.com.

Number of employees you oversee: 700

Brief background of Legends:

Yakama Nation Legends Casino opened in May 1998, and we’re excited to celebrate 25 years in 2023. The casino has grown steadily since our opening, and we’ve taken the time to plan and build the necessary infrastructure along the way from the new wastewater treatment plant in 2008 to the new day care for our team members’ children in 2012.

In 2017, we invited the community to celebrate with us – Legends Casino Hotel – as we marked the completion of our $90 million expansion and renovation that includes a six-story, 200-room hotel and conference center, expanded gaming floor and so much more.

How did you land your current role?

How long have you been in it?

I am a native of the Yakima Valley and an enrolled Yakama.

I completed my associate degree at Yakima Valley Community College, then earned my bachelor’s degree in business administration through Central Washington University.

My career with Legends Casino began in 2008 as part of our Keys to Success program, which was designed to move en-

LETISHA PETERSON General Manager

Legends Casino Hotel

rolled members into casino management.

It’s an ongoing training and mentorship program where the enrolled member not only works but continues his or her education.

After completing the program, I became machines director. Then, after several successful years in that position, I applied for the general manager position in 2016.

I saw an opportunity to carry forward our tribe’s vision to lead and inspire our team as we took the next step with the expansion and hotel. After seven years and many changes – including weathering the pandemic – this role has been an opportunity to invest in our community, our tribe, our team members and the property.

How does Legends fit into the region’s tourism and visitor industry? Why should the Tri-Cities care about it?

The Tri-Cities is our neighbor, and there is so much that links the Yakama Nation and the Tri-Cities community, from Hanford to fishing, to shared stories and more. As neighbors, we can learn from each other and support each other.

Legends is a regional destination for gaming, events and conferences. When we started planning our expansion efforts in the early 2000s, the research showed that regional guests – including from the

Tri-Cities – were interested in staying longer. The addition of our 200-room hotel met that need.

Then, we brought back Pow Wow and Stick Games in 2017. These events draw visitors from all of our neighboring states and much further. Visitors for these events typically drive, and they explore the region during their stay.

All these visits drive revenue for us, and that in turn helps us provide grants in the communities we serve – including the Tri-Cities – through the Yakama Cares program. In 2022, 15 nonprofits in the Tri-Cities received grants from this program.

Please share the social purpose behind Legends and how it supports its community.

The Yakama Nation built Legends Casino 25 years ago as another entity owned and operated by the tribe where tribal members would have an opportunity for a job and a career.

We quickly realized that it’s not just

about tribal member employment but employing our community and bringing energy to our community.

We employ over 700 people from the area, and while our goal is to hire tribal membership, we’re privileged to help create a better quality of life for all people who live in our community.

What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Empathy.

As leaders, we’ve been through everything from the front line through middle

Letisha Peterson

uPETERSON, Page A16

management to the leadership position.

It’s important that we as leaders can remember living check to check, being in a relationship where you’re not on the same page as your partner, or the time in your life before you fully matured and made good decisions regularly.

That empathy for our team members allows growth to happen when we embrace it and look for ways to build them up rather than beating them down.

What is the biggest challenge facing business owners/managers today?

Hiring.

Most industries are trying to find ways to do more with fewer people. It’s not because we prefer that; rather, there aren’t enough applicants to fill all the open positions.

What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Listen.

During the first few months in a leadership position, listen and take in everything from the front-line people all the way to the top to learn as much as possible without expressing opinions. This will help you create a picture for yourself of what your position is and should be and what the big goal is for the organization. Then, you can set out to achieve it.

Also, remember never to promise anything that you can’t deliver.

Who are your role models or mentors?

Karen Jim Witford is an outstanding

volunteer, community member, tribal member and my mother.

She loves and cares about her people. She’s never held a traditional job with an income, but she’s always given everything she has. She’s a great human being, and in leadership positions in our industry, we need to exhibit those same values and give back to our communities.

Patsy Martin served as a Yakama Nation Tribal Council member and the Washington Professional Educator Standards Board, among many other achievements. She created a lot of great programs around education for the community and the state inclusive of native youth. Her approach ties many elements together to help one person become better.

How do you keep your team members motivated?

When I want to force interaction, laughter and engagement among team members, we do goofy exercises that they hate.

I also ask a lot of questions in a way to get the team to process the information and develop the decision. That way, they are part of both the conversation and the solution. Motivationally, that’s not always easy because everyone has priorities, so I try to respect their priorities

How did you decide to pursue the career that you are working in today?

For the first eight years I worked for Legends, we had some great managers, but there was always turnover before the vision came to completion. While that’s

normal for this industry, I wanted to be part of creating stability for Legends Casino Hotel and help develop a long-term plan where we’re all on the same page working toward a shared goal.

How do you measure success in your workplace?

Numbers and reports will always provide a measure, but in a service industry, the culture of the workplace is critical for continued success. We must rely on our people.

What do you consider your leadership style to be?

I try to understand the person in front of me and adjust my style to fit the best way for that person to receive information.

I also think it’s important to be situationally aware. In group settings, there are times when I need to step in and lead, and there are other times when I can participate and help elevate team members to lead.

How do you balance work and family life?

While I was still in school, my mom told me that I would need to balance who I am, how I was raised (being a tribal person), and my work priorities. Culture is a significant part of our lifestyle, and that includes gathering tribal food, being with my mother as an elder, and caring for my family from my youngest daughter who is 7 to my mother-in-law at age 84.

I don’t have any recommendations for how to do it, really. I try to focus on what’s in front of me at work or at home; however, they do blend often.

What do you like to do when you are not at work?

I spend time with my kids. My daughter loves gymnastics, and my son plays basketball. Now that they are getting older, I’m also trying to find more time

for projects I love like crafting, beading, scrapbooking, and shifting things around while cleaning and organizing.

What’s your best time management strategy?

This is not one of my strengths, but team members and my family rely on me. I start the night before by placing notes in front of my keyboard to tell me where I want to focus the next day. Then, when I wake up in the morning, I review my calendar for the day and continue to reference it. Using these techniques helps me keep on task even as emails start pouring in, new requests crop up and the day takes shape.

Best tip to relieve stress?

I reconnect with my base, my home. My children talk about their day, and that makes everything else disappear. We’ll play games or work on projects together. This week, we’re playing Battleship. A couple of weeks ago, we were putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle of Yoda in a swamp, and since I’m tenacious, I’m the only one still working on that.

What’s your favorite podcast?

Most-used app? Or favorite website? Favorite book? (Feel free to choose one or all)

I’m 300 episodes into the podcast “Morbid,” and my favorite book series is “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” that the television series “True Blood” was based on. The most used apps are Tik Tok and Facebook.

Do you have a personal mantra, phrase or quote you like to use?

We’re in a position of change. As an employee, it’s easy to see something wrong with the company and complain about it. I want our team to remember that if you are in a position to make a change, then you should make it.

The Tri-Cities’ hospitality sector has recovered but can it now grow?

You don’t need to be a numbers geek to know that the pandemic wreaked havoc on the hospitality industry, here and elsewhere. Travel stopped, dining in became a dare and the workforce disappeared. None of the 19 large groupings, or sectors, of the local economy took so much of the pandemic’s punch.

The hospitality sector encompasses both accommodation establishments and those of eating, drinking, catering and sipping (of the coffee variety).

In the greater Tri-Cities, it has been the seventh largest, by employment, over the past decade. As a result, the sector’s large layoffs greatly added to the pandemic spike in unemployment.

The rate averaged 8.9% in 2020, after having declined to a multi-year low of 5.8% in 2018.

An astonishing recovery

Yet, the recovery of the sector in 2021 has been nothing short of astonishing.

Benton-Franklin Trends’ graph, “Total Accommodation Retail Sales,” shows a breathtaking plunge in its 2020 revenues, to levels not seen since 2006. It also depicts a recovery in 2021 of 70% year over year. The recovery in the eating and drinking sub-sector wasn’t quite as dramatic, with a 34% increase over 2020 levels.

Has the sector now regained its prepandemic footing? The short answer is yes, but it is not setting the pace

observed in the immediate recovery stages. In the second quarter of last year, the most recent period available, accommodation revenues were up about 14% over the same quarter in 2019, on average over all such businesses in the two counties.

Food services performed better, with a 24% average increase over the second quarter of 2019 for all such businesses in the two counties.

On the surface, these are impressive gains. But do they translate in impressive gains in operator income? Likely not.

We obviously don’t have access to the collective profit and loss statements of all these firms. But we can track total wage costs, thanks to data from the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD). This is likely the largest cost category for all hospitality operators.

A comparison of the second quarter in pre-pandemic year 2019 to postpandemic year 2022 is revealing. Total wages paid in the accommodations

sector rose dramatically: 32% in Benton County and 24% in Franklin County. Clearly, the rise of this cost category significantly outstripped the revenue increase over the same three-year period.

And for food services? The ESD reports reveal similar double-digit increases in total labor costs: 23% in Benton County and 27% in Franklin County.

Since sales increases averaged 24% for the two counties over the same period, the bottom line of restaurants, bars and cafes was likely not as impacted as

those of hotels. But the unprecedented increases in hourly wages, widely reported in the financial press, are certainly challenging profitability of these establishments.

Positive outlook ahead

And the outlook for the businesses that make up the hospitality sector? Barring a deep recession, revenues are likely to hold up this year.

Business travel is likely to pick up, but not at a fast pace, as work routines return to normal, even if it’s a new

D. Patrick Jones Eastern Washington University

GUEST COLUMN

HOSPITALITY

Wave of attractions collide to make the Tri-Cities an unmatched destination

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to meet Michael Landry, head of LIGO Hanford Observatory. He was part of the discovery team that detected gravitational waves that were created when two black holes collided 1.3 billion light years from earth. No one had ever “heard” the sound of gravity waves before, but with them, the understanding of our universe grew exponentially. The three key scientists who headed the research were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.

As I toured the Hanford Observatory, my simple mind may have been overwhelmed by the science, but my soul was completely energized by the passion I felt in Michael as he shared the joy in discovery. I felt I understood my place in the universe just a little bit better that day, and I wanted to know more.

The LIGO story is just one example of the unexpected and unimaginable opportunities of discovery there are for visitors and residents in the Tri-Cities. As locals, we sometimes downplay or overlook the magic of curiosity right before us. Like gravitational waves, some of the more meaningful experiences float past us undetected, and we miss opportunities to experience, learn from and share them. At times, we’re too busy to notice. Perhaps it’s all too close for us to see. But maybe we simply haven’t been tuned in to the possibilities.

The Tri-Cities is a premier destination filled with diverse and unique attractions and activities. Those who visit here notice an uncommon pulse of positive energy that seems to originate in our people. With

that pulse comes a collection of communities thriving with vitality and purpose. I’ve only been here three months, but wherever I go, I seem to encounter people like Michael who emanate with the spirit of exploration. The people are friendly, the drive for success is strong, and the assortment of activities that surround us is refreshing.

You might not really think much about what visitors mean to the dynamics of our community, but when people come to vacation, to attend a conference, or to play a softball game, they bring an amazing boost to our economy. Tourism is the top of the economic funnel that brings in outside money to local businesses, supports new jobs and attracts new business. It plays an essential role in stimulating economic growth, cultivating a diverse and thriving community, and improving quality of life for those of us who live here.

Thanks to the unique mix of sun, the rivers, the wineries and craft brewing scene, the World War II history and more, visitors bring nearly $500 million into the area each year. The top spending categories include food and beverage, retail, recreation, hotels and transportation, but the money spent at these businesses ripples through the community over and over again. All of this produces sales tax

revenue that helps improve our roads, schools, police forces and more. The tourism and hospitality industry creates more than 4,700 jobs in Benton and Franklin counties, and the suppliers and developers who support tourism businesses generate even more. Tax revenue from visitors and tourism businesses gets invested back into our recreation assets, which improves our quality of life, and, thanks to these tax revenues, our personal taxes actually decrease by more than $500 per household each year.

When visitors come here for a convention or sports event, they get a taste of what our communities are like – and they seem to appreciate it. Sixty percent of our visitors come back again. Many of them return with their families for vacation, and some even move here and set up their own businesses.

As the president and CEO of Visit TriCities, I get the opportunity to promote the destination and celebrate everything that is right with the area. Our team’s efforts inspire visitation and support our hospitality partners and visitor attractions. We collaborate with community leaders and foster development to enhance the destination and quality of life. We even have a role in employee recruitment. By showcasing the active lifestyle and adventure activities we have here, we help our economic partners recruit the quality people they need. All these efforts fuel the engine that keeps our local economy running.

The Tri-Cities is lucky to have hotels that are conveniently located next to the attractions and activities that draw visitors, whether it’s shopping, sports stadiums, the waterfront, or within a quick drive of tasting rooms, breweries and outdoor recreation. On top of that, we have world-class wineries, breweries and distilleries that are constantly innovating and bringing fresh and new ideas to the table, literally and figuratively. We’re lucky enough to live in one of the most fertile regions of Washing-

ton state, so the food is what you’d expect – abundant and fresh. With everything from casual restaurants, ethnic eateries and pubs, to cozy cafes and fine dining, the Tri-City restaurant scene has something for everyone.

Maybe it’s because the LIGO experience is still resonating through my system, but I have a distinct affinity for some of the more unique experiences only available here.

I love outdoor recreation. I’m enthralled with the rivers, and when you can combine those elements with the brilliant minds in our communities and our cultural pursuit of discovery, you have a destination unlike anywhere else.

How many destinations can boast having the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor to operate in world history – a reactor you can actually stand inside of?

Where else can you tour a facility started by Nobel prize-winning scientists that “listens” for the gravitational waves caused by colliding neutron stars a billion light years away?

How many places are there with the creative and scientific grasp for growing like we have here, where you can wander through vineyards and sip from the wine produced from the same grapes?

We encourage you to experience and cheer for the hospitality businesses here in the Tri-Cities. What they have created in this destination is truly remarkable. Contemplate the mysteries of the universe. Toast the wineries. Savor the food. Consider the past. Seek out the future. Embrace the energy of the skies. Soak in the sunshine. Feel the flow of the river. Let the passion of our people move you. And when you sense the wave of the universe, let the world know how it touched you.

Kevin Lewis is the president and chief executive officer of Visit Tri-Cities.

Kevin Lewis Visit Tri-Cities GUEST COLUMN

normal.

Leisure travel likely will remain strong, with its strength depending on the ability of the Tri-Cities to stage compelling events and promote general tourism. Perhaps the new blend of travel, “bleisure,” will add extra days to business travel visits.

Food services will gain, of course, from a recovery in travel. More important, however, will be the area’s anticipated population growth.

Growing population

State demographers at the Washington Office of Financial Management forecast that of all the metro areas in the state, the greater Tri-Cities will

grow the fastest. Between 2022-25, the “middle” forecast calls for an additional 15,000 inhabitants in the two counties and between 2022 and the end of the decade, 38,000. These new Tri-Citians will create strong tail winds for food service businesses.

But will the hospitality workforce grow at the same pace? An outlook on the labor force doesn’t seem to offer much optimism. For sure, the workforce in the sector certainly has grown over the past three years.

In the second quarter of last year, employment was about 10,260, or about 2,000 more than in the same quarter during pandemic year 2020. Notably, that count was a bit above the pre-pan-

demic quarter of 2019, at about 9,900.

But the population of the two counties, as seen in Trends data, has grown by over 15,000, or by at least 5%, over the past three years.

If the staffing to the population ratio were to remain roughly the same as in 2019, this would mean that local hospitality business would currently employ 200 to 250 more. Undoubtedly, operators have adjusted to lower labor availability, but it is this writer’s hunch that more applicants would be welcome.

And that gap between demand and supply may only get larger with the projected population increases in the two counties.

Higher wages likely have retained

and even attracted new workers. The data show that this is especially the case for teenagers, and to a much lesser degree, older working adults. At this point, however, we simply don’t know whether forecasted higher population will translate into a larger hospitality workforce.

D. Patrick Jones is the executive director for Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis. Benton-Franklin Trends, the institute’s project, uses local, state and federal data to measure the local economic, educational and civic life of Benton and Franklin counties.

FOOD & BEVERAGE Market aims to restore dignity with free food distribution

By Robin Wojtanik for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

There seems to be no coincidence between a family whose last name is “Sparks,” and the way they have set ablaze a full-time lifestyle of impacting the community.

From churning out 200 cloth masks a day during the start of the pandemic to offering drive-thru food box pickups, the family’s most recent venture is a food bank designed to take the shame out of receiving assistance.

Marlando and Stephanie Sparks opened Restoration Market through their nonprofit, Restoration Community Impact, in an unassuming Kennewick building near a paint store and a car wash at 4000 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 110.

At first glance, you’d think they’re serving espresso under a chandelier, as the entryway features modern furnishings and the smell of brewed coffee.

“I’m a very sensory person,” Marlando said. “And if it doesn’t smell good or feel good, I won’t even go, no matter what it is. And when you walk in here, to me, I can see my wife shopping here.”

The modest market lies beyond the entryway, inviting “members” to take what they need for themselves or their family once a week at no cost, with a transaction only including an assigned barcode.

Serving those in need

Food and household donations come from a range of partners, including Northwest Harvest, EastWest Food Rescue, Cascadia Produce, Big Lots, Simplot, Charlie’s Produce, Lamb Weston, local grocers, and the state Department of Agriculture, just to name a few.

It’s a mix of deliveries or pickups by Restoration Market to get the food and supplies to their shelves. Since opening in late January, the Sparks calculated a wide-ranging impact in just the first few weeks.

“We ran a report that said we serviced 860 households in that time,” Marlando said. “Most of those houses are not five people, they’re like seven to eight people, so when we did the calculations, it was 54,000 pounds of food in three weeks, which helped tens of thousands of families.”

Marlando’s mother volunteers at the market, greeting shoppers with the knowledge her son’s vision will extend beyond this storefront.

“This isn’t it. It’s going to be more than this and bigger than this,” Sharon Sparks said. “There’s no limit. He spoke it, and I knew it was going to happen because it was something God had put on his heart.”

No documentation required

The nonprofit is not faith-based so it’s eligible for federal and state funding and it doesn’t require any specific documentation or income requirement to assist its members. The Sparks figure if people are

here, they have a need, and they want to help.

“It makes it all worth it when the families come here,” Stephanie said. “The kids have smiles on their faces when they see fruit or the chips, and that’s just breaking that poverty mindset. They don’t even know their parents aren’t paying for it.”

A shopper from Richland who stopped by on a recent weekday evening said she learned about the market from a coworker.

Karolynn, who asked her full name not be used, said she falls into that category often referred to as the “working poor,” where she makes too much money to qualify for assistance, but needs the extra help to get by.

“I would occasionally go to the food bank, but it’s hard to get there during the workday, so this is convenient. Coming here is also so calming. I don’t feel stressed or judged and it gives me hope,” she said.

The market’s members are registered into a database for Restoration Community Impact to use for its reports on grants or state funding, but phone numbers are kept in case a large donation arrives and must be distributed quickly.

This happened recently with an entire truckload of potatoes. The familyrun market had the ability to text all its members to hurry over and receive bags of potatoes as there was nowhere on site to store them.

The items available at Restoration Market vary week to week based on donations and everything is checked daily to be sure it’s still of high quality.

“If we wouldn’t feed it to our family, it doesn’t go out,” Marlando said. But it doesn’t get tossed, either. The couple have connections with local farmers who

pick up the bruised apples or browning bananas to feed to their livestock, resulting in little food waste.

There are refrigerated items with fresh produce and dairy products, including eggs, which have become both a scarcity and a luxury for many consumers following recent supply issues.

Tastefully painted signs display the quantity of each item a shopper may take during a weekly visit. If there’s a surplus on, say, turnips, a family may be invited to take as many as they want.

Making a difference

On average, the Sparks say most members leave with three bags totaling about 60 pounds of food.

It’s a big increase and an even bigger impact than what the Sparks first saw when they started setting up drive-thru food pickups through the USDA Farmers to Families program established during the pandemic.

During those events, recipients left with a box containing 20 pounds of items. But the demand often outpaced the donations and in the weeks between distribution events, the Sparks started ordering pizzas to be sent to families through a charity arm of DoorDash.

Both impacts left room for improvement, as pizzas weren’t a long-term solution and the box distribution meant people might receive items they weren’t likely to use or cook with. But the Sparks had built a connection with the community and felt rewarded by what they were doing, with a dream they could impact even more.

It took almost a year from start to finish to plan and open the doors of Restoration Market.

Restoration Community Impact received a $100,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Agriculture through its Food Assistance Resiliency Grants, allowing it to staff, operate and establish the food hub, which offers parking for about 20 vehicles.

Its location was also key, thanks to the building’s owner, George Ahearn of

uMARKET, Page A31

Photo by Robin Wojtanik

Marlando and Stephanie Sparks opened Restoration Market, a Kennewick food hub offering free food to members of the community who need it, at 4000 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 110, Kennewick. The market provides weekly shopping opportunities in a unique environment for families looking for food assistance, with no documentation required to receive help.

Regional Treatment Center Project Creates Opportunity!

Auburn Center thrived for decades as an extension of the previous hospital’s campus. Now, as the treatment center plans take shape, new opportunities in these commercial condominiums are available.

815 Auburn*

1,710 SF Office Space

New roof (2022). Available immediately. Existing tenant will move upon sale or lease.

Lease $1,800/Mo includes utilities MLS 266073

For Sale $225,000 MLS 266072

New owners relaunch new and improved family-friendly brew pub

821 Auburn

1,892 SF Pharmacy space with drive-thru. Vanilla shell. Excellent business opportunity!

For Lease $3,800/Mo includes utilities not listed on MLS

915 Auburn

1,025 SF Medical Space

New Roof (2021). Available July 1, 2023. Affordable Purchase!

For Lease $1,400/mo

For Sale $169,000

919 Auburn

MLS 266074

MLS 266075

2,365 SF Investment Property

New Roof (2021) and HVAC (2022). Leased to national medical tenant.

For Sale $468,000

6.8% Cap Rate

921 Auburn*

MLS 263765

4,854 SF Office Space

Lease entire space or divide into suites as small as 1,200 SF. Renovate to suit for tenants.

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MLS 266080

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*Prohibited from medical use until December 2030.

Contact David Fritch 509.438.6260

By Jeff Morrow for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

For a young couple with two kids, John and Kelsey Plughoff found the dream place to run a business: a brewery on a farm in north Pasco.

The Pasco couple bought the 10-yearold Paper Street Brewing Company last April from Robby Burns. The pub sits on a farm at 241 Fanning Road, about 2.5 miles north of Interstate 182.

“For us, it reminded us of home in Yakima, sitting outside with a fire pit,” John said, “with all of our family and friends around.”

Kelsey agreed.

“To us, this is a little slice of heaven,” she said.

Which is why the last few weeks of February were a bit unsettling.

The Plughoffs had been told by attorneys they could use the LLC of the previous owner, enabling them to use that liquor license.

But that wasn’t correct.

“Basically, we had a misjudgment in the timeline from the lawyer,” John said. “So we had a hold put on the liquor license. We’ve worked with the Franklin County commissioners and the state.”

Everyone has been great, John said. It’s just taking a little extra time to get going again.

Paper Street closed Feb. 17, and the Plughoffs re-submitted all the necessary paperwork for a new liquor license.

John told the Journal that he was notified on March 2 that the liquor license was approved. The Plughoffs likely will be back up and running by the time this story is published.

“Once we get the license, we’re off to the races again,” he said.

Meanwhile, the break has allowed the Plughoffs to do some sprucing up.

“We’re giving the place a facelift by redecorating,” John said.

Taking over the business

The Plughoffs had been customers at Paper Street when Burns was the owner. They loved the place.

But Burns was looking to get out. He had moved the facilities from the Parkway in Richland to the farm in 2018, and he was ready to do something else, John said.

Plughoff has his own business as a fishing guide, Plughoff Outfitters, and he easily does 200 days a year of fishing.

But the place was too dear to the Plughoffs to let it die.

“We were told it was going to be sold or closed,” John said. “Basically it was going to go away.”

So John and Kelsey made an offer to buy it, and the place has been theirs to run since.

Burns’ parents, Max and Diana Burns, still own the farmland that Paper Street is on.

Courtesy Paper Street Brewing Company

Kelsey and John Plughoff, owners of Paper Street Brewing Company in Pasco, stand with their daughters, June and Jade. A recent closure allowed them to redecorate and spruce up their brew pub, which features a farm atmosphere that welcomes families.

Auburn Center

Future home of the Three Rivers Behavioral Health Recovery Center

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Plans underway to open new food co-op store in Richland

By Laura Kostad for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Tri-Cities is getting another shot to support a local food co-op.

Alan Schreiber of Schreiber Farms in Eltopia is leading the effort.

The fifth-generation farmer is leading a steering committee focused on opening a cooperative grocery store in Richland that will offer locally-sourced, predominately organic fresh produce, meats, seafood and other foods, personal care products and home goods.

Plans for the Tri-Cities Food Co-Op include a deli and eating area and small event gathering space featuring art by Pacific Northwest artists for sale. The organizers envision hosting live music, cooking classes, workshops, product tastings and meetings there.

Steering committee members also include Ginger Wireman, Eve McQuarrie, Melinda d’Ouville, Liesl Zappler and Dimple Patel.

A home in Richland

The committee and its community backers have been working with the landlord on tenant improvements at 1420 Jadwin Ave., the former home of Atomic City Thrift.

It’s not the first time the 1960s-era building has been home to a grocery store.

In 1966, it was a retail food mart and in 1983 it was a Price Chopper supermarket. It also once housed a martial arts studio and Paws Natural Pet Emporium.

The co-op held a public meeting in

January at the Richland Public Library to discuss plans, hear feedback and stoke member and volunteer interest. It hopes to open in early summer.

It will hold more public meetings as plans progress.

Eating local Schreiber, an organic fruit and vegetable farmer for 17 years, manages 120 acres north of Pasco. He sees an unmet need in the Tri-City region for a dedicated food coop that focuses on fresh, local organic food in a grocery store format.

Schreiber said he’s surveyed local grocery stores and found that organic representation just isn’t there. In one store, he noted that there was 330 feet of conventionally-grown produce and 15 feet of organic produce. He reported that none of it was from local growers.

“Every city of consequence has a food co-op. Tri-Cities is by far the biggest town in the greater Northwest that doesn’t,” he said, noting that small towns with co-ops include Mazama, Tonasket, Orcas Island and Twisp.

In addition to farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer sales, Schreiber sells his produce to community food co-ops in Canada and all over the Northwest, such as Seattle’s 16 PCC Community Markets, Skagit Valley Food Co-Op and Bellingham’s Community Food Co-Op.

The model challenges the idea of what is considered local in a time when food is commonly transported thousands of miles to consumers across international borders,

oceans and continents.

Or, perhaps it doesn’t, given that context. Entering local markets outside of the directto-consumer arena has proved challenging for Schreiber.

“It makes my head explode how much is produced here and it almost all gets shipped out of here,” he said. “You can’t get local organic stone fruit (in the grocery store) any time of the year here, even though it’s grown in this area. A lot of what’s grown in the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin goes to packing houses and is shipped out of the area. We can certainly get a lot more than we are getting.”

“I can’t get my produce into a grocery store in TriCities. To me, they’re just not interested. Grocery stores are not as interested in local-seasonal. The bigger they get, the more they want the guy who can deliver a certain quantity all year round,” he said.

He added that even if a local grocery store wanted to buy his produce, due to how the grocery supply chain works, the store would have to place an order with the distributor Schreiber sells his produce to.

All of Schreiber’s produce then goes to Seattle where it is shipped to western Washington markets, then the portion des-

tined for Eastern Washington goes to Spokane to be distributed. Only then would the orders from Tri-City grocery stores be trucked back to Tri-Cities, he said.

“I want a store I can just drive 15 to 20 minutes to and drop off my produce. That’s the way it should be. The food has

uCO-OP, Page A31

Courtesy Alan Schreiber Alan Schreiber of Schreiber Farms in Eltopia is leading an effort to establish a food co-op at 1420 Jadwin Ave. in Richland.

Boba shops find enthusiastic fans in the Tri-Cities

By Jeff Morrow for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Tri-Citians should be aware that there is a new wave of bobalicious goodness coming their way soon. Actually, it’s already here. But more is coming.

The region is experiencing an explosion of boba tea drinks.

Food trucks such as Bobablastic sell it. Pearl Tea at the Columbia Center mall thrives on it. The owners of Novel Coffee, Tea and Toast, say boba saved their business.

New places are opening within the next ninth months – Boba Lab on Clearwater in Kennewick, Taestea Boba on Keene Road in Richland, and JayDay Cafe and Boba at the new Edison Food Park.

We’re also starting to see already established restaurants and coffee shops adding boba tea to their menu.

“It’s going to be just like coffee: pretty much on every corner,” said Brandi Dunlap, the owner of Taestea Boba, which is scheduled to open in March. What is boba tea?

Boba tea is said to have originated in Taiwan in the 1980s.

According to Eater.com, “boba” is the word for tapioca pearls, fresh fruits with juicy bits, or jellies that are mixed in the drinks.

A boba tea drink usually consists of black tea, milk, ice and the tapioca pearls (or substitute), all shaken together like a martini, and served with a wide straw so that the pearls can get sipped up from the bottom of the drink.

Fruit bubbles can be substitutes for the tapioca. These can explode in the mouth, turning them into popping pearls.

Jellies are usually coconut and are chewy.

“It’s definitely the boba topping that makes it popular,” said Katherine Moon, who manages Pearl Tea at the mall for her family. “It’s what sets the tea apart from other drinks.”

Growing market

According to Allied Market Research, the boba tea market boasted total revenues of $2.4 billion in 2019.

By 2027, that revenue should jump up to $4.3 billion.

Savvy entrepreneurs have taken notice.

Moon and her sister have been longtime bubble tea addicts, living in the Seattle area, where it can be found everywhere.

“We realized there was just not enough of it in the Tri-Cities,” said Moon, whose family switched gears to get into the boba business. “We originally opened up a coffee shop actually, and then added bubble tea to the menu as a side option. But we quickly realized that the bubble tea was just as, if not more, popular than the coffee.”

The family decided to sell the coffee shop and open a boba tea store.

“And I don’t think the market will get saturated,” Moon said. “The population in the Tri-Cities has been rapidly growing over the years and the more it does, the higher the demand will be, of course.”

Dunlap also has become a convert.

The single mother worked with a former boyfriend in his Boise boba shops. The two opened a store in Walla Walla to rave reviews.

“When we opened (Black Pearl Boba Tea) in Walla Walla, we had customers coming in from the Tri-Cities for it,” she said.

The relationship with the boyfriend didn’t last, but the affection for boba prompted Dunlap to bring a store to the Tri-Cities.

“There is really nothing you can compare boba tea to,” Dunlap said. “It has its own unique flavor. You can have more fun flavors with boba. You can do equal amounts of ingredients. I like tea. But you can have full sweetness, half sweet or quarter sweet in your drink.

“My drinks are all blended. I use a formula. But we also have flavors on the menu,” she said. “Honestly, just learning the drinks probably takes a week.”

Oscar Suarez and his wife, Lonnie, own Novel Coffee, Tea and Toast at 710 George Washington Way, Suite B-B, in Richland.

Suarez said when he and his wife bought the coffee shop from the previous owner, they learned the recipes of making boba teas and say they were one of the first stores in the area to serve boba.

At the time, it was located in the lobby of the Richland Public Library.

Then Covid-19 hit and threatened their livelihood. State mandates forced the

shutdown of the library, making it impossible for them to op erate.

So they moved to their cur rent location near Howard Amon Park.

Suarez said boba saved them.

“Boba was 90% of our sales at that time,” Oscar said. “Boba 95% helped us survive.”

It’s still popular at his store, and he and his wife have figured out a way to combine boba with iced coffee.

“We have an iced drink called the Typewriter that has boba,” Suarez said. “It’s our most popular drink.”

Boba has done so well for Su arez that he and his wife are look ing to add new shops, perhaps in east Pasco and Prosser. Who drinks boba?

Apparently, all ages.

“The majority of customers might be of high school age or college,” Dunlap

Support local farmers by taking advantage of locally-produced food

By Laura Kostad for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Tri-Cities is surrounded by farms, orchards and vineyards.

Our state is a national leader in the production of apples, blueberries, hops, pears, sweet cherries and spearmint oil. It is second in the U.S. for potatoes, grapes and asparagus.

Even crop sectors that don’t land spots in the top rankings are exported all over the country and world. This goes for commodities, grains, seafood and meat.

Food processing also is big business, converting local produce into ready-toeat products stocked on store shelves, locally and abroad.

Tucked in among these larger producers are smaller scale growers and makers who put a hand to the land and seasonally bring the fruits of their labor to market.

Traditionally, this has been pop-up roadside stands and farmers markets, but in recent years, new options have emerged for connecting local food producers to consumers.

It can be challenging to track down local versions of what can be picked up easily from grocery store shelves, but making the choice to support the small business owners and entrepreneurs who make up Tri-Cities’ and the greater Columbia Basin’s local foodshed offers its own intrinsic value – it provides food

security for the region, makes food more personal, and, at the very least, it’s as fresh as you can get it without growing it yourself.

Spring begins this month and late March is when asparagus harvest season in our state typically gets underway. We think this makes it the perfect time to offer this roundup of the plentiful fresh food options available locally so you can make good on your plans to eat healthier.

CSAs

Community supported agriculture, or CSA, is a way of directly supporting a farmer before the harvesting season begins.

Limited to the number of customers a given farm can supply, customers buy a half share (geared toward individuals or couples), or full share (couples or small families) in the off-season and pick up a box of fresh produce at a drop site throughout the summer.

Big Sage Organics (bigsageorganics. net/csa) of Othello serves the Tri-Cities for 18 weeks from June through September.

It provides “basic cooking staples like garlic, onions, herbs, squash, starches and common salad fixings. We will also include weekly seasonal sweet and savory items like heirloom tomatoes, melons, sweet corn, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, (and) cucumbers,” according to its website.

For 2023, a half share is $300 and delivered every other week, while a full share is $600 and delivered weekly.

Tri-Citians can select to pick up their box at either the Kennewick or Richland Highlands Organic Market.

Delivery is Tuesday afternoon for both locations.

Local Pumpkin of Pasco offers a hybrid CSA format featuring fully customizable delivery, from weekly, every other week or monthly doorstop.

Local Pumpkin networks with numer-

ous local fresh food producers to offer a one-stop shop for most staples, such as fruits, vegetables, raw milk, free-range eggs, grass-fed meats, ferments, baked goods, honey, cheese, pasta, beans and more from around the Northwest region.

They even grow some of their own vegetables.

During the off-season, many local products are still available, though they source from California and other distributors to continue offering fresh produce.

Some farms are open to the public where produce can be purchased directly or ordered online ahead of time.

Schreiber Farms is one example – for pickup there, at a local farmers market or other centralized location.

For more ambitious foodies, U-pick operations are another option, such as Bill’s Berry Farm in Grandview, Applegate Blueberry U-Pick in Burbank, Ray French Orchard in Richland and the Hatch Patch in north Pasco.

Other local food resources

Tracking down local food products can be a treasure hunt, especially in the off-season.

Visiting independent retailers can yield locally sourced goods, some of which are available year-round.

The Public Market @ Columbia River Warehouse in Kennewick is one such resource, as will be the Osprey Pointe Marketplace once it opens. (See story on page A1).

Highlands Organic Market, with locations in both Kennewick and Richland, stocks local ferments, raw milk, cheese, microgreens, mushrooms, produce, chicken and quail eggs, honey, bee pollen, baked goods and more.

Others specialize in a particular local food product.

For example, Ethos Bakery of Richland grinds its own flour and sells it by the bag. The flour is sourced from Southeastern Washington farms that grow heirloom varieties.

When the Tri-Cities Food Co-Op, a hub for organically grown food, personal care products and more, gets off the ground (See story on page A25), it will house many community food resources under one roof.

Pasco Farmers Market

Located at the corner of South 14th Avenue and West Columbia Street in downtown Pasco, this market has been in operation since 1988.

It reopened in March 2022 after a year of renovations and improvements.

Among last year’s vendors were Albertin Orchards fruit of Kennewick, Schreiber Farms organic produce of Eltopia, Lovejoy Farms produce of Eltopia, Pat N Tams Beef of Stanfield, Oregon, Paradise Pastures meats of Kennewick, Rudy’s Pepper Blends of Kennewick, Ranch at the End of the Road vintner of Benton City, Old Timers Pork Rinds of Prosser, Dixie Del’s Cut Flower Farm of Kennewick. Hours: 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays from mid-May to the end of October.

Courtesy Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership / Jan Mennenga Spring begins this month and late March is when asparagus harvest season in our state typically gets underway. Though many of our region’s farmers markets begin in June with Pasco’s starting in May, there are other options to get fresh produce onto your plate.

Contact: downtownpasco.org/pascofarmers-market.html, Facebook.

Richland Farmers Market

Held at the Parkway shopping plaza between George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue.

Among last year’s vendors were Hermiston Melon Company, Beyond Pickles of Richland, JDS Farms’ corn of Pasco, Walchli Farms produce of Hermiston, Tri-Fry American Frites, Neiffer Triangle 4 Ranch grass-fed beef and eggs of Lexington, Oregon, Blakelby Farms corn and melons of Pasco, The Herd 5C beef of Ritzville, Wheel Line Cider of Ellensburg, Flatau Farm fruit of Basin City, Water Buffalo Brewery of Walla Walla, Colockum Hillside Farms meats, Schreiber Farms, Old Timers Pork Rinds, Bauman’s Blossoms.

Hours: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Fridays. Season begins the first Friday in June and runs through the last Friday of October.

Contact: marketattheparkway.com.

Downtown Kennewick

Farmers Market

This year the market will be held in a new downtown location, to be determined.

Watch the Kennewick Farmers Market Facebook page for updates.

Among last year’s vendors were Mooers Family Farm meats of Kennewick, Chesed Farms gourmet mushrooms and microgreens of Walla Walla, Hermiston Melon Company, Albertin Orchards, L Bar Ranch Beef of Granger, Stangel Bison Ranch of Enterprise, Oregon, Schreiber Farms, Walchli Farms, Wheel Line Cider, Fernandez Farms of Sunnyside, Dixie Del’s Cut Flowers, Rise & Shine Bake Shop of Kennewick, Eating Gluten Free Bakery of Richland, Skymaiden Soaps of Kennewick.

Hours: 4-7 p.m. Thursdays. Season begins on the first Thursday in June and runs through the first Thursday in October.

Contact: Facebook.com/kennewickfarmersmarket.

PNNL Employees-Only Farmers Market

Launched in 2012, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory hosts a farmers market in Richland for employees, featuring familiar local growers such as Schreiber Farms and Dixie Del’s Cut Flowers.

Hours: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays. Season begins in June through midSeptember.

3 Eyed Fish Farmers Market, Richland

Held at 1970 Keene Road in Richland near 3 Eyed Fish Kitchen + Bar.

Among last year’s vendors were JDHolbrook Farms eggs of Boardman, Oregon, Aichele Farms berries of Stanfield, Oregon, Bautista Farms of Sunnyside, Rill-Butamante Farms pulses, soup and spice mixes of Granger, Beyond Pickles, Micro Grow Farms microgreens of Prosser, Key Family Farms, Hermiston Melon Company, Columbia Basin Shroomery of Pasco, Mooers Family Farm, Two Sisters Honey of Kennewick, Northwest Cured Meat Products of Pasco, Voodoo Signature Spices & Sauces of Kennewick, Ranch at the End of the Road, Old Timers Pork Rinds, SunKissed Lavender of West Richland, Albertin Orchards, Rise & Shine Bake Shop, Marla’s Cookie Co. of Richland, Rocken K’s Goat Milk Soap Co. of Kennewick, Double K Blooms of Kennewick, Es Lit Candle Co. of Richland.

Hours: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays. Season begins the middle of June and runs through the middle of October

Contact: Facebook.com/ 3eyedfishfarmersmarket.

Many market vendors accept EBT, SNAP, WIC or KERNEL program currencies.

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said. “But we’ve had doctors and attorneys come in (in Walla Walla) and thank us for having the shop. It’s literally anyone between 5 and 60 years old.”

Trinity Realty and cofounder of EastWest Food Rescue, a nonprofit focused on redirecting food from the bountiful east side of the state to the denser populated west side.

Restoration Community Impact hasn’t shifted all its resources to the market. With its core team of family volunteers, partners and the state, the Sparks say they

a longer shelf life, it’s fresher and it’s less food miles traveled and significantly less resource intensive,” Schreiber said.

Selling in a brick-and-mortar store is also a more stable market for growers, providing more visibility and a year-round outlet for their products.

Schreiber has tried other local venues for selling his produce, but they weren’t cost effective.

Last year he had a stall at the Public Market @ Columbia River Warehouse in downtown Kennewick and also held popup market stands in Ace Hardware parking lots with set days and hours of operation. Neither were profitable, he said.

“I think that we are underserved by our grocery stores. We’ve had grocery stores close down at the same time that our popu-

Be forewarned, some boba drinks may have high sugar content.

“I usually have them as a treat,” Suarez said. “But I know many people who drink them every day, sometimes two a day.”

still host food distribution events across nine counties in Eastern Washington, covering the Yakima Valley and as far north as Okanagon. They say they’re not trying to compete with other food banks, they’re just trying to fill a need.

“Looking at the inflation numbers and everything else going on, you don’t have to be part of the working poor to be affected,” said Irene Mendoza, chief administrative officer for the nonprofit.

lation has grown. If you look at the number of people per square foot of grocery stores in the Tri-Cities, it’s high. There’s a need for more of them,” he said.

How a co-op works

The co-op-style store will operate at an organizational level similar to Kent, Washington-headquartered outdoor outfitter, REI. Its stores are open to the public but offer a lifetime member buy-in option for a reasonable one-time fee that provides members access to special sales, discounts and voting rights in board elections.

Tri-Cities Food Co-Op is accepting membership payments now to help fund the future co-op.

A basic lifetime membership is $100 per household, or $50 for active students and seniors over 65.

Payments may be paid by credit card

Moon suggests that first timers try a milk tea.

“Taro milk tea, and tiger milk tea (which is brown sugar milk tea) are our most popular drinks,” Moon said. Dunlap offers something similar with

“Just one week’s worth of groceries will help supplement your bills and you can afford other priorities because no one asked to be put in this position at any level of economic value, so we don’t have restrictions. You can just come get what you can get to hold you over for the week.”

The Sparks are still seeking additional partners and donors to help advance their efforts to impact the community at large.

over the phone at 509-266-4348 or via check made payable to Tri-Cities Food Coop and mailed to Schreiber Farms, 2621 Ringold Road, Eltopia, WA 99330.

Founding members also are welcome to contribute at amounts of $250 or higher.

Part of the funding goal is to welcome 1,000 members.

It’s not the first time a food co-op has opened in Richland.

Mid-Columbia Market at the Hub operated from 2013-17 at 603 Goethals Drive, now the home of Pacific Pasta & Grill.

Schreiber and his steering committee were not involved in that market, though he said some former organizers have showed up at public planning meetings to show their support.

This time around, he feels the effort to establish a co-op will have a firmer foun-

brown sugar tea, which is popular. But really, she said, you can’t go wrong with any of the drinks.

“The drink is really aesthetic, and when you drink it, you’re hooked,” she said.

Restoration Market is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and noon to 7 p.m. Thursday. Appointments are preferred due to demand. The store offers walk-ins the first and third Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Search Restoration Market: 4000 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 110, Kennewick. Contact: restorationcommunityimpact.com; 509-987-9281.

dation and more established business plan to ensure long-term success and viability.

Organizers plan to file paperwork to turn the co-op into a legal nonprofit. Schreiber said they have retained a lawyer, have articles of incorporation, a bank account, marketing firm and a formal website and job announcements in the works.

“We have a letter of intent for a lease and are in negotiations with a lender for a $350,000 loan,” he said.

The goal is to raise $600,000 from the community. In addition to membership payments, one large pledge of $50,000 has come through in support of the co-op.

Prior to the co-op’s launch, a governing board will be elected by the membership. Go to: facebook.com/TCFCoop, website coming soon. Contact admin@tcfcoop.org for more information.

CO-OP, From page A25

BOBA

, From page A27

“They still come here,” Kelsey said. Paper Street sells nine or 10 different beers it makes, crowlers (or cans) and has two more taps dedicated to other area breweries.

The beer, of course, is the main attraction.

One of their staffers makes the beer, and “the customer base has told us they believe the beers have improved,” John said.

But Paper Street also sells ciders and wine made by local winery Goose Ridge, plus seltzers in which flavors can be added.

While customers can bring their own food, food trucks are usually at the farm

on Friday and Saturday nights, and there is a musician or band playing about once a month. And it’s kid friendly.

Customers aren’t surprised when locals fly in, landing on the grass airstrip during the summer, getting their growlers filled up, and then flying away.

Cornhole tournaments can draw big crowds on the weekends, Kelsey said.

“It’s very much an outdoor venue,” she said. “People come here to sit outside and have a drink.”

The company also offers space to rent with either its hangar or the entire brewpub.

Other than the temporary closure, business has been going well.

“The amount this place has grown

is amazing. Business has been up 44% over last year,” John said.

There are nine employees, including John and Kelsey. All of them are either close friends or family.

“Obviously we’re going to grow, but we don’t want to change the atmosphere,” John said. “I don’t want to take this venue and move somewhere else. We’ll have some in-house food, such as some breakfast burritos or personal pan pizzas. But we don’t want to take away from the food trucks.”

After all, the food truck owners are also part of this new family.

Even with this bump in the road, it’s been an exciting time for this couple.

“I love socializing, the customer in-

teraction and meeting new people,” Kelsey said.

John enjoys the challenge.

“I’ve done 13 years as a hunting guide, and either seven or eight years as a fishing guide,” he said. “There is something about the service industry that I like. I’m used to dealing with people. And I get excited about dealing with a business and growing it.

“Growing the business and atmosphere with our friends and family. What’s not to like?”

Search Paper Street Brewing Company: 241 Fanning Road, Pasco. Hours: 3-9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Contact: 509-460-9814; paperstreetbrewing. com.

Pandemic pups increase demand for professional dog trainers

By Jeff Morrow for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Steve Sprague and Ida Ann Wright love dogs.

Sprague’s favorite is a German shorthair, but the truth is, he loves every dog.

“I think we’d be pretty miserable without dogs,” he said. “They give you that unconditional love. I think the potential with them is incredible. They enrich your lives in so many ways.”

The couple bought three dogs in recent years, but the majority of their dogs are rescues.

They also own a dog-training franchise, Sit Means Sit Tri-Cities, at 23 W. First Ave., Suite B, in downtown Kennewick.

A few months ago, they more than doubled their training space by leasing the 5,200-square-foot Sunburst Video building across the alley from the site he had been using for the past 4.5 years.

After Sunburst closed, the building was used as storage.

As soon as it became available, Sprague was able to lease it.

The landlord took a few months to do repairs and upgrades to the building, getting it ready for the dogs: fixing the roof, the floors and electrical work.

“It means more space, allowing our team to do more things at the same time,” he said. “We can do a group class and a private class at the same time. With the expansion we haven’t increased the number of dogs, but we are training just the

services we are able to offer. The size of our staff dictates how many dogs we can train, not the size of the space. But we are hiring.”

Sprague says the new building size and better rubber flooring allows him to offer more other indoor dog sports like rally, disc, play times and more.

Getting started

Sprague himself said his first “professional” dog training gig came at the age

of 12, when his neighbor offered him $10 per command taught to his dog.

But what he really got out of the deal was the joy of working with dogs.

Still, “I never thought that dog training was financially viable career,” he said.

Sprague held a few different careers over the years: He worked as a firefighter, paramedic and military depot medic and owned a fishing lodge in Alaska.

His aha! moment came while at the

fishing lodge.

Sprague was working at a booth at an outdoors convention in Boise. Next to his booth was a Sit Means Sit trainer.

He was so impressed with what that trainer did he decided to become an apprentice. That was 10 years ago.

And eventually, Sprague became a certified Sit Means Sit trainer, and he opened his own facility in the Tri-Cities in 2015. Joining the franchise

The company was founded in 1998 by Fred Hassen in Paradise, Nevada, with the mission to “revolutionize the quality of life with happy, obedient and confident dogs.”

It uses various methods of training, which includes a collar using low-level electronic stimulation.

The Sit Means Sit in Kennewick is one of 157 franchise locations across the United States and Canada.

Sprague’s franchise offers puppy, private and immersion programs and a day training program – in which trainers work with a dog one day a week for six to eight hours. The dog’s owner then comes in at the end of the day to learn what the dog has learned.

By Sprague’s estimate, there are about six full-time dog training businesses in the Tri-Cities area.

Sprague started about seven years ago, working out of his home and also using a small conference room for group classes

uSIT MEANS SIT, Page A37

Photo by Jeff Morrow

Steve Sprague recently expanded his Sit Means Sit dog training facility in downtown Kennewick. He said the pandemic increased demand for dog trainers.

Parkway gift shop fueled by sarcasm and sass

By Robin Wojtanik for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A new shop in Richland’s Parkway is filled with snarky gifts, fresh flowers and a few four-letter words for good measure.

“I call it a sassy gift shop with a twist,” said shop owner Teresa VanDoorn. “Life is better with sarcasm.”

The Teal Box opened in January as a storefront, replacing a business model that included pop-up locations at farmers markets, school bazaars and other outdoor events during the pandemic.

Make no mistake, this is a unique shop designed to make you laugh, using items curated from other small businesses, including many that are women-owned.

But it’s not for everyone, as a couple curse words are printed in large size right on the sales stand as you enter the shop at 741 The Parkway.

“I wasn’t always super sassy to begin with, but I found those were the items that were consistently selling out, and I realized, people need this humor, they need to laugh,” VanDoorn said. “They’d walk in with their girlfriends and just start laughing. So my customer base helped me really develop the need for this, and that it was OK.”

There are a range of items for women, men, babies, work buddies, self-care and more, featuring “zero sass to 100.”

There’s also a shop within a shop as VanDoorn partnered with her friend, Ember Long-Anderson, who has a space for her business, The Flower Bar.

It offers grab-and-go bouquets typically priced up to $50, or the option to pay for individual stems and have the florist arrange the flowers for no extra charge. Long-Anderson also uses the Parkway storefront to meet directly with her clients for larger bookings, including weddings.

The Teal Box started as an online busi-

ness and still offers virtual shopping opportunities.

VanDoorn was used to sending care packages to her kids in college and found limited options at the time. Her idea was to provide personalized styling of a gift box, or the option to do it yourself with just a little encouragement.

Her signature offering is, quite literally, a teal box that can be filled with items for local delivery with a $10 flat rate or through shipping services for those out of the area.

If shipping out of town, the customer can select a carrier at the point of sale, making it seamless to get a personalized gift while skipping the packaging and trip to the post office.

VanDoorn took the leap to open the shop after finding online sales weren’t as fulfilling. She wanted a more consistent opportunity to meet with people.

“I know myself, and I’m a people person. I was loving the pop-ups way more than sitting on a computer, and I enjoyed all the interaction. I’m just a very genuine person. I’m not trying to sell you something; that’s never been my goal. I just want to enjoy people, and I want people to enjoy my humor and what I bring to the table,” she said.

When VanDoorn wasn’t at an event, other vendors would often share that shoppers had come by looking for her, and this pushed her to consider opening in the marketplace being built in Pasco. Then she stumbled on the vacancy at The Parkway.

“I’m 51. It’s kind of like, if you’re going to do it, do it. I’m not in the grave yet. My kids are grown, and it’s time for mom to have her own thing,” she said.

She hasn’t ruled out a second location at Pasco’s Osprey Pointe when it eventually opens. “I knew this would be a good location right now. I love being in the

Parkway. I feel like it’s really like reinventing itself,” she said.

VanDoorn’s looking ahead to when the Richland Farmers Market reopens in the spring and the additional foot traffic it will provide as people discover her uncommon offerings.

So far just one customer has turned on their heels after reading the sassy phrase emblazoned on the check stand: “A wise woman once said ‘F--- this sh--’ and she lived happily ever after.”

“I know it’s not for everybody, right?

And that’s OK. I’m not here to appease everybody.”

Search The Teal Box and The Flower Bar: 741 The Parkway, Richland. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays. Contact: thetealbox.com; 509-713-7001.

Search The Flower Bar: 741 The Parkway, Richland. Contact: 509-438-6983; theflowerbarontheparkway.com.

Photo by Robin Wojtanik

Teresa VanDoorn offers a wide range of gift items, from classy to sassy, at her new store, The Teal Box, in Richland’s Parkway shopping area.

Cultivate confidence to become a more effective leader

I have a drink coaster in my office that I look at every day that features a quote from author Anais Nin: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

One of America’s top coaches and influencers Brendon Burchard has researched in his book “High Performance Habits” that “underlying all of the six high-performance habits is confidence. Increase that, and all the other scores increase.”

Confidence is a big deal in leadership. No one wants to follow a non-confident leader. And if you want executive presence, confidence is from which it springs.

What is confidence? A belief in your own abilities, a belief or self-assurance in your ability to succeed.

To get more confidence, let’s review actions you can take each week.

Believe in yourself

This is not just a “woo-woo” phrase. You really do become on the outside what you believe on the inside. You are the sum total of your most dominant thoughts. Those thoughts – your self-talk – are driving deep grooves in your brain – positively or negatively – so it’s crucial to clean them up and point them in a more confident direction.

What’s your power to draw from? A strong core. Just like you need to do planks and crunches to improve your physical core strength, you need to take some time to re-acquaint yourself with yourself, most likely in a personal retreat, and strengthen your mental/emotional core.

Re-discover:

• Your noble purpose or personal mission statement: why you do what you do.

• Your core values: how you do what you do.

• Your strengths: define them through the Clifton Strengths Finder or Working Genius assessments.

• Your experience thus far: all the wins you can celebrate in your leadership

• Your resourcefulness to figure things

out as this leads to an optimistic mindset.

• Your pure motive in this situation.

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit,” said e.e. Cummings, an American poet

Yeah, it takes work to train your brain. Over time, it will become more your default.

Negativity is the wet blanket that snuffs out courage.

And, if you don’t do it for yourself, do it for others who are watching you. It’s harder to believe in others when you choose to not believe in yourself. Your self-talks affects those you love and those you work with.

Expand your network

First, believe in yourself. Then, expand your network.

Develop and strengthen more of your relationships. A good rule of thumb is to always work with the construction gang and not the wrecking crew. Demo day is fun on those home improvement shows and often it can save you money on your contractor. But in life and business, the wrecking crew are the gossips, the Eeyores, the nay-sayers, the can’t-do-it people.

You don’t have time for that and thus you must put boundaries around those folks in your life.

Instead, you can choose to hang with those:

• Doing what people said couldn’t be done – the initiators of the world.

• Who are always growing, personally

and professionally.

• Trying something new and taking on new challenges.

• Stepping up when others step back –showing courage.

The benefit to you: They are courageous when you are not, or they speak courage (“en-courage”) to you when you need it most.

Scottish author George MacDonald said: “Nothing makes one feel so strong as a call for help.” Do you read that and go, “Wait, what?”

Almost every client I have has said that if they ask for help, they might be viewed as weak or incompetent, or someone to be passed up next time.

It’s counterintuitive, though. How many times have you grown in your career or life when someone you reached out to for mentoring got you to the next level by their advice or the doors they opened for you?

Here’s the magic: I have found it amazing that as soon as you start telling people what you want to do, things start emerging in your path to make it happen.

According to author of “Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader,” Herminia Ibarra said we need three kinds of networks:

• Operational (internal: at work) – to manage today’s work; to get things done efficiently.

• Personal (external: away from work) – to grow toward your life vision, to enjoy life and develop yourself.

• Strategic (both internal and external: with medium- to long-term focus) – to lead well; to understand your context; to generate ideas and support for them.

Glean as much as you can from everyone around you. The way you do that is to not be passive, but intentional. Ask targeted questions of mentors and journal your takeaways.

First, believe in yourself. Then expand your network.

Take a baby step, open your wings and go all-in.

Beyond the comfort zone

We must break down big goals and dreams into attainable stretches. You stretch – not enough to pull a muscle – but outside your comfort zone. It’s getting those confidence muscles ready to push beyond.

This could look like:

• Speak up for once at a meeting where you’ve previously been silent or intimidated.

• Volunteer to take a role that you don’t fully feel you are equipped to do (but you know you’ll be a quick learner).

• Name the side-business you’d like to start and brainstorm the elements in a business plan.

• Hire a coach or personal trainer or therapist to stretch your mind to the possibilities.

Here’s what I do know, best said by Indian revolutionary Mahatma Gandhi: “You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”

Inaction is a decision, usually not one we’re proud of later. Yeah, that’s when we look back a year or five and see we haven’t grown. We haven’t accomplished anything on our bucket list. We didn’t take action. However, action blasts away fear.

Courage or comfort?

Don’t always play it safe. Playing it safe will never be fulfilling. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who want to make things happen and those who don’t want to make mistakes. On a continuum, where are you?

You must do the things that scare you to build confidence. You will cultivate confidence through risk, failure and changing how you think. The choice is courage or comfort–you can’t have both.

So, we are building courage momentum. A 90-year-old looked back on his life, and when asked his best advice for living well, he said, “When in doubt, just take the next step.” It’s good advice.

A quick reality pause: Expect resistance – and push through it. As soon as you set a courageous goal, resistance comes calling. We tend to give up too easily.

Instead, absorb the hit and keep going–like the X-Man Wolverine who heals almost as fast as he’s getting pummeled.

Fear is part of that resistance. Being fearless is less about operating with no fear and more about seeing the fear – confronting the fear – and stepping forth in a grand effort to overcome.

“Hi, fear, I see you. I know you’re along for the ride, but you can’t have the steering wheel. Onward!”

Baby step, open your wings, and then,

Paul Casey Growing Forward Services GUEST COLUMN

CASEY, From page A36

Best example: Cortes in 1519 said (and then did), “Burn the boats,” leaving his men no chicken-exit to return home.

“All-in” means not hedging, not leaving yourself an easy out and not thinking, “It’s OK to cancel.”

Titus Livius, Roman historian, said: “In difficult situations, when hope seems feeble, the boldest plans are safest.”

Sounds counterintuitive. But which organizations thrived throughout the pandemic. Who reinvented with new vigor?

The only way you can rise to meet challenges effectively is to expect to.

Finally, your courage and confidence have benefits that ripple out to others. Make it easier for others around you to take courage.

By nudging those around you to pilot something, or run with their plan, and by creating a climate of grace for errors, you embolden others to take their baby-step risks. Now you are in their network, and they are drawing off your courage.

Whatever you are thinking of creating or accomplishing, be a part of the solution. Take courage, expand your leadership and grow forward.

Paul D. Casey lives in the Tri-Cities and is the owner of Growing Forward Services, which aims to equip and coach leaders and teams to spark breakthrough success. Casey has authored five books and hosts Leader-Launcher.com for emerging leaders each month. Online at growingforwardservices.net.

at the Kennewick Ranch and Home.

SIT MEANS SIT, From page A34 go all-in.

Eventually, he moved to a building on Vista Way before moving to the current location.

Sprague doesn’t plan any more expansions anytime soon. But he does have one employee who lives in College Place who holds a couple of training classes a week in Walla Walla.

Sprague said that he could easily use one or two, possibly three, new employees.

Along the way, Wright has been with him. They met when Sprague was coldcalling veterinarian offices in the area, and she was working at one.

She joined his team in 2017 and has been vital in every aspect of the opera-

tion, he said. She steps in wherever needed, as a trainer or manager.

“We have eight employees, plus Steve,” Wright said. “Pre-Covid, we had five.”

“I couldn’t do what I do without this staff,” Sprague said.

Pandemic increases demand

While Covid negatively affected many businesses, it had the opposite effect on dog training.

“Covid has been a tragic historical event, but it actually increased the need for good dog trainers,” Sprague said. “A lot of people were working from home, and so were able to adopt dogs or had more time to spend with their dogs and found they could use some help.”

That’s where Sprague and his staff come in.

“I love changing lives. I feel that’s what we’re doing. Dogs are family,” he said. “People come to us at their wit’s end. They’re struggling, stressed, frustrated, some even thinking about possibly rehoming their dogs. When we see them, we can help change things. That’s really the biggest thing.

“The dog is happier. The family is happier.”

So is Sprague, with his lifelong love of canines.

“The longer I train them, the more I learn how amazing dogs are and how much more they have to teach. It’s a never-ending process,” he said.

Search Sit Means Sit Tri-Cities: 23 W. First Ave., Suite B, Kennewick. Contact: 509-987-1990; sitmeanssit.com; Tricitiessms@gmail.com.

uNEW HIRES

• Sara Schilling joined the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business as a reporter. The Kennewick native has 15 years of experience as a journalist. The Tri-City Herald hired her in 2004 after she completed a successful internship. She worked there for more than six years before leaving to work for more than two years at the Tacoma News Tribune. She returned to Kennewick and the Herald, where she worked for another six years. She comes to the Journal after spending the past four years working in the communications department at the Kennewick School District. Schilling is an award-winning journalist, earning a national Society of Professional Journalists award for feature writing, among several others. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University.

• Anneke

Rachinski joined Washington State University TriCities as senior development director on Feb. 13. In this role she will develop, implement and administer the Tri-Cities campus development efforts to support annual fundraising goals. Rachinski comes to WSU Tri-Cities with a background in higher education fundraising. Most recently she led the development and growth of a major gifts and planned giving program. She also has led alumni relations and cultivation efforts. Prior to her fundraising roles, Rachinski worked for WSU Tri-Cities as a project coordinator for the Hanford History Project and a program assistant in the development department. She has a master of science in management and leadership from Western Governor’s University and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Western Washington University. She is also a graduate of Leadership Tri-Cities, Class XVV and received the Young Professionals Award from the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business in 2022.

• The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce hired Miles Thomas as the organization’s government and regional affairs director. In this position, Thomas will lead the Regional Chamber’s advocacy efforts, the myTRI 2030 Regional Vision Project and more. He brings more than a decade of experience in community and economic development to his new position. Within the Tri-Cities, Thomas has extensive policy advocacy and project planning experience through economic development roles in city and port governance. Thomas serves on the board of directors for the Tri-Cities Diversity and Inclusion Council and Sagebrush Montessori School, in addition to committee roles for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and Washington State Small Business Development Center Advisory Board. He is an alumnus of the University of Illinois and holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning.

• Carya Bair joined the Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council on Feb. 1 as the business engagement manager. She has been a strong contributor to the local public workforce development system for 10 years. Bair has held many roles at WorkSource Columbia Basin in business services and case management, including her most recent role as an interim employment connections supervisor. In her new role, she will be conducting outreach and work to expand our community organization and business partnerships.

• Wine industry veteran Edward Holmes joined J. Bookwalter as the national sales director for the 60,000-case winery located in Richland. Holmes has managed wine sales for more than 25 years in the Pacific Northwest. He started his career with Brown-Forman, spending eight years as Northwest regional wine sales manager and three years on the

company’s NAOP team. He then spent 10 years with Oregon winery King Estate as vice president of sales for the western United States. Over the past three years, Holmes has worked for DAOU Family Vineyards to build a presence in the Pacific Northwest for the California-based winery.

• Jay King has been hired as Prosser’s new police chief. The Montgomery, Alabama, native earned his bachelor’s and master’s of science in justice and public safety from Auburn University Montgomery and is currently a candidate for a master of science in public administration. His tenure in law enforcement began when he enlisted in the Alabama Army National Guard in December 1990. He was assigned to the 217th Military Police Company, where he reached the rank of specialist. He earned several medals and ribbons during his service until he received an honorable discharge in December 1997. He has more than 26 years of law enforcement experience in Montgomery, beginning in July 1994, and two years in Unalaska, Alaska. King replaces former chief David Giles who resigned in February.

• Astria Health hired Elizabeth “Eli” Sreniawski to its Pediatric Therapy Clinic at 1017 Tacoma Ave. in Sunnyside. The occupational therapist specializes in pediatrics with an emphasis on working with children on the autism spectrum, with medical complexities, with sensory processing problems and with profound behavioral needs. She’s practiced in hospital- and school-based settings, treating patients of all ages. Sreniawski is part of the new Astria Health Pediatric Therapy program offering occupational and speech therapy services.

• Astria Health hired family nurse practitioner Severiano Manuel to its Astria Health Center in Grandview. He joined Astria Health after working in the KirklandSeattle area for several years and he has over 10 years of nursing experience. He received his post-master’s certificate in family nurse practitioner and his master of science in nursing degree from Seattle University. His master’s program focused on community/public health, leadership and program development. He also received his bachelor of science in criminal justice with a forensic science specialization and a minor in chemistry from Seattle University.

• Community First Bank’s home loans team is growing with the addition of six

mortgage consultants and four mortgage processors. The team totals 11 mortgage consultants and seven mortgage processors. The new additions to the team are Tom Coyne, Jowed Hadeed, Luis Campos, Philip Murr, Heather Lee, and Monique Rojo.

• Lourdes

Health hired Pamela Morris as an advanced registered nurse practitioner at Lourdes Occupational Health. She sees patients for pre-placement and post-offer physicals, diagnosis and treatment of work-related injuries, Department of Transportation physicals, respiratory protection programs, hearing conservation programs, medical surveillance, fitness for duty and more. She comes to Lourdes from Prosser Memorial Health Family Medicine where she was the medical director and treated occupational health patients. She previously practiced with Total Care Clinics and 8 AM to 8 PM Family Medicine in Kennewick and cared for patients in the surgical unit and served on the trauma and code teams at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. She also worked as an associate professor for 15 years in the Department of Nursing at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

• Prosser

Thrive Coalition hired a new executive director, Brittany Aguilar

Her first day is March 20, replacing previous director Haley Greene, who resigned in June 2022. Aguilar is originally from Mount Vernon, Washington. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in family studies at Central Washington University. While in school she facilitated a parenting group, taught an intro to family studies class, served as president of the Family Studies Club and completed two research projects. She also completed a practicum with Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families. She has spent the majority of her career as a social worker for the state and in youth drug and alcohol use prevention. Thrive is comprised of community volunteers representing 12 different sectors of the community working together to reduce substance use.

• STCU has hired Home Loan Officer Teresa Ryan to serve the credit union’s Pasco, Queensgate, and Southridge branches, along with its Ritzville location. She was a social worker for 25 years before entering real estate. She holds degrees from Washington State University and Walla Walla University.

Sara Schilling

Anneke Rachinski

Miles Thomas

Jay King

Pamela Morris

Brittany Aguilar

Teresa Ryan

Severiano Manuel

Carya Bair

Elizabeth “Eli” Sreniawski

uNEW HIRES

• Adrian Ochoa is the new athletic director at Richland High School. He is currently a business and marketing teacher and DECA advisor at Richland High. He replaces athletic director Mike Edwards, who will be retiring at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Ochoa holds a bachelor of applied business management degree from Columbia Basin College and a master’s in education leadership with a principal Certificate from Eastern Washington University. He also earned his career and technical education teaching certificate from Eastern Washington University.

• Distinctive Properties Inc. of Kennewick hired two new real estate brokers: Melissa Reddout and Tiffany Robbins • Lourdes Health and Trios Health hired Dr. Amardeep Mann to provide a range of cardiovascular care to patients throughout the Tri-Cities and surrounding region. He will divide his time seeing patients at the Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco and at the Trios Care Center at Southridge in Kennewick. He is board-certified in cardiovascular medicine, internal medicine and International Board of Heath Rhythm Examiners (IBHRE). Mann specializes in preventative and general diagnostic cardiology, nuclear tests, tilt table test, stress echocardiography, cardiac catheterizations, echocardiograms, loop recorder, pacemakers and implantable cardioverterdefibrillators. He received his doctor of medicine degree from GURU Gobind Singh Medical School in India, completed his residency at the University of Southern California, LAC and USC Internal Medicine, and his fellowship in cardiology at The University of Southern California, LAC and USC Cardiovascular Diseases.

• Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the largest winery in the Pacific Northwest and among the largest premium wineries in the U.S., hired Shawn Conway as chief executive officer. He is a seasoned executive with 30 years of experience in leadership roles across several consumer product categories. Most recently he served as the CEO of Peet’s Coffee, and prior to that he spent nearly a decade at

SKYY Spirits. Conway has held multiple positions in general management, operations, supply chain, and finance in highgrowth, premium-branded specialty food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods companies. He holds a bachelor of science in commerce with a major in finance from Santa Clara University.

uPROMOTIONS

• The Richland Police Department has promoted David Neher to deputy police chief, a newly created position that is part of the overall organizational restructuring of the department. Neher came to the department as a police officer in June 2021. He was promoted to lieutenant in February 2022. He continued to climb the ranks to police commander in April 2022. Prior to Richland, he worked for eight years at the Citrus Heights Police Department in Citrus Heights, California, most recently as a detective sergeant in the special investigations unit. In addition, he served as an acting lieutenant, a patrol sergeant, on the special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team, and as the unmanned aerial systems team leader, among other roles.

uAWARDS & HONORS

• Columbia Basin College named Martin Valadez as the winner of the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Spirit Award. The award is given annually to those who embody the spirit and vision of King’s work. Valadez is being recognized for his leadership and efforts to address the inequities and injustices affecting disadvantaged groups in the community, especially minority, low income, migrant and Spanish-speaking populations. Valadez was recognized for his leadership efforts to create a more just society. Professionally, his career focused primarily on higher education and health care, two areas critical to addressing the needs of underserved populations. His expertise in these areas extended to the community through work on behalf of countless community organizations, committees and foundations. Valadez is regional director

at Heritage University and he serves as a member of the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, interim executive director of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, vice chair of the Washington State ACLU, president and founder of the Pasco Bilingual Toastmasters Club, member of Gesa Credit Union’s board of directors and founder of the Latino Professionals Leadership Development group.

• The Port of Kennewick honored James Cox as a champion in the revitalization of Kennewick’s historic waterfront and recognized him with their 2022 Friend of the Port award. He has supported the port’s efforts to transform the east Columbia Drive neighborhood into the Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village. Cox notifies port staff when he sees abandoned cars, vagrants, graffiti or offending activity and he patronizes area businesses. Port staff reported that when a food truck’s equipment was inadvertently left unattended, Cox secured that equipment overnight for the vendor. And several times he secured fencing for the contractor during construction of the tasting room building. He often calls port staff about broken sprinklers and lights. Port officials say he has taken it upon himself to serve as volunteer “watchman” for the neighborhood. Cox is an Army veteran and former long-haul truck driver.

• Central Washington University was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

Top Producing Institution for the 2022-23 academic year. With three CWU faculty members selected to the prestigious program last year and three others chosen between 2019-21, CWU ranks among the nation’s most decorated institutions for the federal government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

• Nan Duncan, a special education paraeducator at Richland High School, has been nominated for the state Classified School Employee of the Year by the Richland School District. The program recognizes classified employees from each of Washington’s educational service districts every year. Staff members are chosen for their exceptional work; the

respect and admiration they have received from their community; their commitment to professional growth and deepening connections between schools and communities; their collaborative approach to creating positive and successful school cultures; and their dedication to student success. Duncan grew up in Richland schools and her own children graduated from Richland High School. She joined the district in the 1988-89 school year as a paraeducator at Badger Mountain Elementary and also worked at Carmichael Middle School. She has spent the past several years working in Richland High’s structured program, which serves students who are autistic.

• Austin Regimbal, the marketing and communications director at the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, was among the 19 chamber executives to graduate on Feb.15 from Academy, a professional development program presented by the Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.). Academy is an interactive three-year training program on chamber management essentials designed for chamber executives and staff.

uDONATIONS

• UScellular donated $30,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties through its Community Connections program.

• Columbia Industries, a missionbased organization committed to supporting and empowering individuals with disabilities and other challenges, received a $5,000 donation from First Interstate Bank. The CI Community Center used the grant to buy musical instruments to use with clients during weekly music lessons, led by Ted Brown Music of Richland.

Tiffany Robbins

Dr. Amardeep Mann

Martin Valadez

Melissa Reddout

Adrian Ochoa

James Cox

Nan Duncan

Austin Regimbal

Overturf plans to expand dealership to Pasco

By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz

The family-run Overturf Motors in Kennewick is set to expand into Pasco in the next couple of years.

Doug Overturf, general manager and president of the dealership on West Columbia Drive, said he hopes the new facility south of Interstate 182 and north of Saint Thomas Drive in Pasco will open in late 2024 or early 2025.

It will be the home of Overturf’s Kia business. The Volkswagen inventory

will remain at the Kennewick location. The company also sells pre-owned cars. Overturf bought the 3.21-acre Pasco property for $2 million, according to property sales records.

The expansion is needed because “we’re out of room in our facility,” Overturf said. “Kia has become a real force in the industry. They’re building great products and people love them. We can’t get enough of them. We sell whatever we get before it comes in, pretty much, and I don’t see Kia going backwards.”

The dealership sold about 350 Kia and 212 Volkswagen vehicles last year in addition to its used car sales – and Overturf foresees those numbers going up for both brands.

The dealership has been a fixture in Kennewick since the early 1960s, when Doug Overturf’s father, Jim, bought a Volkswagen store at Benton Street and Columbia Drive.

After Jim died, his widow – Doug’s mother, Marian – took over, and then Doug eventually bought the dealership.

It moved to its existing location at

1016 W. Columbia Drive in 1987. Doug Overturf sees the business staying in the family as it continues to grow. His daughter Jennifer Bronner is active in the company and will help run both stores when the Pasco location opens, Doug Overturf said.

He and his wife, Nancy, also have a daughter, Andrea Doyle, who works in the medical field.

Overturf is excited about the expansion.

“It’s something that I’ve needed to do,” he said.

Rail site expansion opens local import-export access

By Robin Wojtanik for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A Kansas-based company plans to pick up where Union Pacific Railroad left off and complete an intermodal ramp in Wallula, bringing increased transportation capacity via rail.

The project will open up routes to Northwest docks and as far east as Chicago through a lease and purchase agreement for the former Railex site.

Future plans by purchaser Tiger Cool Express could include an expansion into additional markets, such as the Interstate 5 corridor and Mexico.

“In 10 years, or maybe sooner, the Tri-Cities could be spoken of as a global logistics hub right there with Rotterdam, Hong Kong and Singapore,” said Ted Prince, chief strategy officer and cofounder of Tiger Cool Express. “You’ve got land, you’ve got labor, you’ve got water, and you’ve got electricity.”

Prince said the state has been asked to build an intermodal ramp in Eastern Washington for decades but concluded it was a project for the private sector.

“We’re the private sector here, and the citizens of the whole Tri-Cities will benefit from this,” he said.

He said this region reminds him of the Inland Empire decades ago but with one key advantage.

“The only difference is with our facility you can run a conveyor belt by rail from the port in and out without putting trucks on I-90 and Snoqualmie Pass, and that not only helps the driving public and reduces noxious emissions, it makes the truck drivers happy. Truck drivers hate the pass,” he said.

Prince also points out deficiencies

with other U.S import sites that lack adjacent land to expand on or the reliable infrastructure to operate planned distribution centers for mega retailers like Target and Walmart.

“You know, people have opened 2 million-square-foot facilities then to be told, ‘We’re sorry, there won’t be any electricity there for another year or two.’ ”

He added, “I used to work for an ocean carrier and the Pacific Northwest was a very important geography for us. We used to run barges down the Snake and Columbia rivers for exports of french fries, peas, beans, lentils and hay. It costs more to move the hay from the Tri-Cities to Tacoma than it does from Tacoma to Asia. So, anything we can do to reduce those costs for domestic transportation, it makes that Washington export much

more competitive.”

Prince said his industry also solves a lot of the supply chain issues currently faced by exporters.

“If they can actually get a box (shipment container) because often they get a promise of a box, which may not be delivered, which may not make it to the port, which may not make it on the vessel – we can solve all of that by moving it by rail,” he said.

While no purchase price has been disclosed, Tiger first announced plans to acquire the property in 2021 and the lease and purchase agreement includes the former Cold Connect warehouse and property at 627 Railex Road.

The 200,000-square-foot facility shuttered early in the pandemic, citing Covid-related troubles and taking 170 jobs with it.

Now renamed the Tiger Tri-Cities Logistics Center, the building was originally built as part of a public-private partnership with the Port of Walla Walla dedicated in 2006.

The plans to build out the intermodal ramp and purchase the shuttered warehouse have the support of Port of Walla Walla Executive Director Patrick Reay.

“We’re hopeful they’re wildly successful in reestablishing use of a real asset that the public owns and which the port constructed years ago. We’re excited about the prospects. Working alongside them and supporting them is critical to the region,” he said.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of produce are already shipped on the rail line yearly using rail cars. Prince touts the efficiency offered versus the highway system.

“Right now they take an import from Seattle and truck it to the Tri-Cities and then truck it back empty. Then, the hay exporter goes to Tacoma, picks up that empty, trucks it back to the Tri-Cities, and then moves it back loaded. So, you’ve got four moves of 250 miles. With rail, you can then truck the import 12 miles to the distribution center, bring the empty back to us and we’ll hold the empty for the exporter who’s ready and does the same thing. All of a sudden, you’ve taken 1,000 truck miles off the road.”

The industry touts those reduced truck miles as part of its environmental advantage, providing a much lower carbon footprint for shipments, “When it comes to the politics in Washington, this is clearly something the east and the

Courtesy Tiger Cool Express Tiger Cool Express’ plan to build an intermodal ramp in Wallula will provide new opportunities for shipments in and out of the region using rail.

west and the left and the right sides of the aisle agree on because it benefits everybody in the state,” Prince said.

After the 2020 shutdown of the Cold Connect Warehouse, Tiger Express says it leaned on Union Pacific to complete the intermodal ramp but to no avail.

“We tried all our tricks to get them to finish it, and they said, ‘Well, if you feel so strongly about it, why don’t you buy it?’ So, we did,” Prince said.

Permits are already in place for construction on the ramp and $2 million in lift equipment has been delivered from Italy for installation. Work is expected to get underway soon with a media day

Idaho Central Credit Union buys land in Kennewick

Idaho Central Credit Union bought 1.5 acres of commercial land at 3720 S. Zintel Way in Kennewick.

Credit union officials said they didn’t have any details to share about timelines to develop the property in the Southridge area.

The credit union paid $784,000 for the property, according to property records.

In January, Idaho Central announced that it had hired a senior private client relationship officer to serve the Tri-Cities area as it “continues to expand in the Washington market.”

Idaho Central was organized as a state-chartered credit union in 1940 and has since grown to have over $9 billion

planned in April to show the progress.

Since it’s not starting from scratch, Tiger expects to finish the job by July.

For all the excitement and promise, the project doesn’t come with immediate restoration of lost jobs or even new jobs.

“Historically, train terminals are not great job creators,” Prince said. “But what they do is attract great job creators because they want to be right by the freight facility. (Elsewhere in the U.S.), intermodal terminals have attracted millions of square feet of warehouse and distribution which results in thousands of jobs.”

AutoZone already has a large distribution center a short distance from Wallula

in assets. It serves over 540,000 members throughout Idaho, Washington and eastern Oregon. It has two branches in Spokane.

$1.3 million in improvements planned for new Joann store

More than $1 million in tenant improvements are underway for Joann’s new 29,400-square-foot store at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

The sewing and crafts retailer recently closed its former store on North Columbia Center Boulevard to move into a portion of the 160,000-square-foot hole Sears left behind when it closed its store in 2019 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy.

Joann’s new address is 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 455.

Improvements include interior parti-

and Amazon plans to add its own two in the Tri-Cities, which could make rail access highly appealing.

“The doctrine is no longer to have a distribution center 250 miles from every store,” said Prince. “With e-commerce, it became, ‘I’ve got to be 50 miles or less to every possible consumer because they expect to have it delivered the next day.’ ”

Once open, Tiger Tri-Cities Logistics Center will be expected to handle 5,000 loads a month.

Each load is equivalent to a 53-foot container hauled by most tractor-trailers.

Tiger is informally calling this initial effort “phase 1A.”

tions and finishes, lighting, power, heating, air conditioning and ventilation and plumbing.

Lakeview Construction of Wisconsin is the general contractor.

Siefken & Sons Construction founder dies at age 92

The founder of Siefken & Sons Construction, Bill Siefken, 92, died Feb. 7.

Siefken and his wife, Reta, founded the construction firm in 1975.

The company developed the Bryn Mawr Apartments in north Richland, which enabled Siefken to take an early retirement from Hanford in 1982, while growing the construction business.

After several years, he retired from Siefken & Sons Construction, passing it along to the next generation. He and his wife continued managing their growing rental property business.

Siefken was an active member and trustee at Redeemer Lutheran Church. He was active in Richland Rotary, where he led hands-on projects for many years, including the development of Centennial Park and Sutch Park & Bridge Relocation project. He was instrumental in the Rotary Duck Races, with the course eventually being named after him. He received several awards while in Rotary, including the “Service Above Self” in 2001.

He received the Small Business of the Year “Award for Excellence” in 1995. He was an active member of an apartment association for many years. He was involved in many volunteer efforts over the years, including moving a building from FFTF to the Howard Amon Park area for

It intends to work with the state and the Port of Walla Walla to expand the storage availability to hold more empty containers on-site.

Prince estimates about 15 ocean liners dock in the Northwest and if they all were to start using the Wallula site for shipments, the demand for storage would increase significantly.

Use of nearby land likely could allow for an increase to 12,000 stored containers each month, or even double that in the future.

Tiger Cool Express CEO Steve Van Kirk said in a statement, “The Pacific Northwest offers transformational potential for our company.”

the now-defunct CREHST Museum and the related construction work to finish the project.

In his free time, he enjoyed RV traveling with Reta and their friends for many years, fishing with family and friends, and many memorable trips with family to the Oregon Coast, Hawaii, and Charbonneau Park. He kept active through the years, still routinely riding his bike till the age of 92.

BNSF announces plan for 2023 capital investments

BNSF Railway Company recently announced its 2023 capital investment plan of $3.96 billion, which includes a project near Pasco.

The largest component of this year’s capital plan, $2.85 billion, is devoted to maintaining BNSF’s core network and related assets.

Maintenance projects include replacing and upgrading rail, track infrastructure such as ballast and rail ties, and maintaining its rolling stock. The work includes nearly 14,000 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work and the replacement of 346 miles of rail and about 2.8 million rail ties. About $400 million is for equipment acquisitions.

Over $700 million of this year’s capital plan will be for expansion and efficiency projects, adding to the nearly $2.5 billion invested in expansion projects over the past five years. This year’s expansion plans support the growth of BNSF Intermodal and Automotive, Agricultural and Industrial Products customers.

TIGER COOL, From page B1

uBUSINESS BRIEFS

Catholic Charities’ new housing project edges to completion in Pasco

By Laura Kostad for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Catholic Charities Eastern Washington’s new $16.79 million housing development in Pasco is nearing completion, with leasing expected to begin at the end of March.

The Bishop Skylstad Commons project, formerly called Pasco Haven, was renamed in honor of William Skylstad, former bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane and a longtime supporter of the services provided by Catholic Charities Eastern Washington in its 13-county service area.

He was named one of Catholic Charities USA’s two volunteers of the year in 2016.

“We’re extremely excited about this project coming to fruition,” said Kelly Keenan Sr., vice president of advancement and impact at Catholic Charities Eastern Washington.

Construction delays

Despite an announcement in January that the units at 301 S. 20th Ave. would begin filling in February, supply challenges caused delays, Keenan said.

“Most have been resolved at this point,” he said.

Architecture All Forms was the designer and Inland Group was the general contractor. Both are based in Spokane.

The building will provide 60 apartment units to support adults exiting homelessness or housing instability. Five full-time, on-site staff will help residents work toward their goals of greater self-sufficiency.

“For the folks who will be moving into those units, our staff will be on site by day one. The goal is to not just stabilize in housing but move toward thriving and overall improved health. This will look different for every resident,” Keenan said.

Services will include employment counseling, substance use disorder treatment, behavioral health, health and wellness classes, links with primary care providers and other medical services, education, food prep lessons and connecting to eligible benefits.

Keenan said staff plan to engage with local health care and higher education partners in Tri-Cities to further enhance

the services available.

Catholic Charities designs its supportive housing projects based on the underlying concept that housing is a health care intervention. This combined with on-site staffing aim to function as a whole-person health care delivery system.

Residents will pay rent, up to 30% of their income.

“We know that when housing stability is the most emergent concern for people in their lives, it becomes difficult to navigate the systems in communities that would otherwise be simple for people who have stable housing,” Keenan said.

“We make sure that stable housing platform is there and enriched with as much service delivery as possible to allow people to think about what they want for their lives and what they want to accomplish and help them take steps to make it attainable,” he said.

Keenan reported that 90% of residents who move into Catholic Charities’ housing projects remain housed year after year and 50% are able to increase their income. They anticipate that 10% of residents per year will move on to independent housing.

Catholic Charities Eastern Washington is a religious nonprofit unassociated with the Catholic Diocese of Spokane, which works within its jurisdiction that extends to Franklin County.

The organization is supported by individual contributions, service fees and government funding. It offers 2,600 affordable housing units, 600 of which provide a supportive environment like

what’s planned in Pasco.

It is Catholic Charities’ second project in the area, the first being apartments for farmworkers, also in Pasco.

Similar facilities to Bishop Skylstad Commons are St. Michael’s Haven in Walla Walla and Spokane’s Buder Haven.

Rise of homelessness

In the Tri-Cities, the rate of homelessness has been on the rise since 2016, even as it has been decreasing across the state during the same period, according to a Community Health Needs Assessment of Benton and Franklin Counties.

The Homeless Management Information System records about 4,000 people as homeless in the greater Tri-City area, which includes those living in vehicles and drifting between the homes of family and friends

By 2019, the average number of days a person spent homeless in Tri-Cities had more than doubled from 39 days to 82 days, according to the Community Health Needs Assessment.

Keenan explained the phenomenon: “We’re seeing a similar trend in TriCities that we’re seeing in Spokane and even in more rural areas of Eastern Washington, which is very rapidly rising housing costs – mostly in terms of rising rent – combined with a very much inadequate supply of housing units available. The combination of

Photo by Laura Kostad

Catholic Charities Eastern Washington hopes to begin leasing units at the new Bishop Skylstad Commons, 301 S. 20th Ave. in Pasco, during the last week of March. A grand opening for the $16.79 million project is planned for April 14.

uPASCO COMMONS, Page B4

Advertising opportunities available.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Energy Northwest begins construction on Highway 12 EV charging network

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Construction is underway on a network of electric vehicle charging stations along the White Pass Scenic Byway on Highway 12.

The network will include eight new EV charging stations from Chehalis to White Pass Ski Area, each equipped with at least one Level 3 fast charger and one Level 2 charger.

All the stations are expected to be operational this year and will be listed for drivers to find on the PlugShare website and mobile application.

Energy Northwest is leading the EV infrastructure project.

The agency near Richland operates one of the largest clean energy generation portfolios in the region and has been expanding EV infrastructure throughout the state since 2016.

“Our goal is to help Washington state meet its carbon-reduction goals – both in the transportation sector and with the clean energy transformation – to benefit our members, regional customers and the public,” said Greg Cullen, Energy Northwest’s vice president for energy services and development, in a news release. “As the transportation sector evolves, having the infrastructure in place is vital for connecting communities across Washington.”

Resound Energy LLC of Bothell is the construction contractor.

JSA Civil LLC of Tumwater is the primary engineering firm on the project.

Focus: Agriculture + Viticulture takes a closer look at how our region serves as the powerhouse that drives our state’s agriculture and viticulture industries. This glossy magazine will be inserted into the Journal of Business’ June issue.

The project is a collaboration among Energy Northwest, Lewis County Public Utility District and Twin Transit, with support from White Pass Scenic Byway organization, Benton REA and surrounding community members.

“Highway 12 is designated as an underserved corridor for EV drivers and

it’s an integral route for travel across Washington, with stretches of rural areas through Lewis, Pierce and Yakima counties,” said Tanya Dion, Energy Northwest project developer. “We’ve had a great amount of interest and support from local communities to install this network of charging stations. This makes long distance EV driving possible through this beautiful part of our state.”

Each charging location on the White Pass Scenic Byway will have an interpretive sign highlighting nearby attractions and local information.

“We are excited to see this project come to fruition. We are pleased to be able to offer EV charging services to enable travelers with electric vehicles to now drive between eastern and western Washington via the White Pass Scenic Byway on Highway 12,” said Maree Lerchen, White Pass Scenic Byway Board president.

Energy Northwest secured two grants to fund the project – a $1.15 million grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Clean Energy Fund and about $667,000 from the TransAlta Coal Transition Fund.

Station locations are:

• White Pass: 48935 Highway 12, White Pass Ski Resort.

• Packwood: 13053 Highway 12, Tatoosh Market.

• Randle: 9802 Highway 12.

• Morton: 521 Adams Ave., Morton Medical Center.

• Elbe: 54106 Mountain Highway East, Mt. Rainier Railroad Dining.

• Mossyrock: 748 Williams St., Mossy Mini.

• Salkum: 2480 Highway 12, Salkum Library.

• Chehalis: 172 Highway 12 at I-5 Exit 68, Petro America.

March 16

Deadline: May 3

those two factors is really exacerbating the homelessness problem in these communities.”

“If one-bedroom units creep above $1,500 and two-bedroom units creep above $2,000 per month, that can quickly become a challenge for folks with limited incomes,” he said.

Grand opening

Catholic Charities Eastern Washington hopes to begin leasing units during the last week of March.

A grand opening is planned for April 14, details to be announced.

Residents are being selected based on their level of need using the local Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry program, which allows people to be assessed and considered for housing at Bishop Skylstad Commons through most local homeless service providers.

Those interested in applying for

housing at Bishop Skylstad Commons should call 509-455-3034 or email housing@cceasternwa.org.

Hiring underway

At press time, Catholic Charities Eastern Washington was looking to hire care coordinators and certified peer support for Skylstad Commons.

Care coordinators work closely with each resident to develop a stabilization plan and connect residents with various service providers.

Certified peer support seeks those who have experienced homelessness, housing instability or other circumstances related to recovery.

“Folks with that kind of knowledge and expertise in their lives are a significant support in helping people navigate community systems and work through the challenges they might continue to face,” Keenan said.

Those interested to learn more can go to: cceasternwa.org/careers.

PASCO COMMONS, From page B3

Bridal shop vows to be one-stop shop as it begins expansion

By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz

Elaina Morrow has a vision for Roselily Bridal & Tuxedo that goes beyond the elegant wedding gowns, sharp suits and other fashionable formal wear in the Richland shop.

“I want everyone who walks in the doors to have a great experience. It’s important to me that everyone has a place to belong. I want to make sure that they feel like there’s something for them here,” she said.

An expansion that’s underway at the shop at 2158 Keene Road is helping Morrow bring that vision to the next level. She’s expanding Roselily into part of the former Ethos Bakery & Cafe space next door, adding 1,100 square feet to her shop.

The expansion will include space for menswear, bridesmaid wear and budgetfriendly wedding gowns of $1,000 or less.

Construction has started, and Morrow hopes to be up and running in the expanded space by the beginning of April.

She’s positioned Roselily Bridal & Tuxedo as a one-stop shop for wedding needs. “My bride can find her gown, and

A Tri-City favorite expands into Spokane market

then we can transition to bridesmaids, groomsmen, the groom,” Morrow said. “It allows for a cohesiveness – we can make sure everything is cohesive and blends together.”

She’s also offering formal menswear that goes beyond wedding attire, including dinner jackets and more. She also offers size-inclusive wedding dresses.

Although Morrow didn’t initially set out to be in the bridal business, it’s become a passion. She has a degree in human development and family studies and dreamed of being a midwife. But the Texas native moved to the Tri-Cities in 2012 and found a job at what was then Amy’s Bridal Boutique.

She eventually bought the store and transformed it into Roselily, which is named for the flower and in honor of two women who are important in Morrow’s life.

She’s excited about the chance to keep growing, building her business and sharing her passion in the Tri-Cities.

“I really wanted to offer something to help keep our economy growing. Having local businesses, brick and mortars, is important to me. I want to help make it to where our economy can thrive and we can all grow together,” she said.

By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz

It started out as a food truck in Richland’s John Dam Plaza serving up Porter Kinney’s signature smoked meats, and it’s transformed into a local barbecue juggernaut, with three retail locations doing brisk business throughout the TriCities.

Now, Porter’s Real Barbecue is continuing its trend of steady growth by opening a new location in Spokane. The restaurant at 9420 N. Newport Highway, Suite 104, debuted in February.

“Spokane is really special to us. We’ve thought it naturally made sense to go there as the next market,” said Amol Kohli, Porter’s president, noting that many Spokanites have discovered the family operation over the years while visiting the Tri-Cities and become loyal customers.

The new location is not only bringing Porter’s popular brisket, pulled pork, ribs and more to a new city, it’s also bringing jobs. The target was to hire about 25 people for the Spokane spot, and “we’ll continue to build off those numbers,” Kohli said.

As for continued expansion, Kohli

said the company is taking things one location and one step at a time.

As long as Porter’s can maintain its quality and standards, “I think growing down the road is something we’d continue to do,” Kohli said, adding that there’s no rush.

“We’ve got one open in Spokane. Let’s go from there. There’s no need to do 100 tomorrow. That’s our position,” he said.

Porter’s Real Barbecue traces its roots back to 2009, when founder and CEO Porter Kinney moved back to the TriCities from South Carolina with a love for barbecue.

The food truck launched in 2014, and brick and mortar locations in Richland, Kennewick and Pasco followed. The company also has a commissary in Richland.

The goal is to “spread the love of barbecue to as many people as we can, in a way that always meets our quality and our standards,” Kohli said. “We’re excited to keep adding to our story of starting as a food truck and building it out one by one. We’re excited, we’re honored and we’re blessed to be in this great position.”

Courtesy Angela Johnson Photography

Elaina Morrow, owner of Roselily Bridal & Tuxedo, is adding 1,100 square feet of space to her store at 2158 Keene Road in Richland, intending to create space for menswear, bridesmaid wear and budget-friendly wedding gowns of $1,000 or less.

Courtesy Porter’s Real Barbecue

Porter’s Real Barbecue opened at 9420 N. Newport Highway, Suite 104, in Spokane in February. It has restaurants in Richland, Kennewick and Pasco, and a commissary in Richland.

45-year-old Kennewick office building sells for $2.7M

ASAP Clearwater Plaza LLC paid $2.7 million to buy a 16,352-square-foot commercial building along busy Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick.

Todd Sternfeld of NAI Tri-Cities represented the seller, Inisel LLC.

Sternfeld called the property at 3030 W. Clearwater Ave. one of his favorites to represent because it is a great success story. When Inisel bought the building in 2014, it essentially had one tenant, he said.

It took several years to renovate the property and find the right tenant mix, Sternfeld said. “Their 100% occupancy

goal was finally achieved in 2022,” he said.

Built in 1978, the two-story office building features a geometric design and balcony.

Current tenants include The Fix Machine Animal Health Clinic, Vita Sana Day Spa, Northwest Esthetics Academy, Spotted Dog Grooming, among others.

Senske Services acquires

Colorado-based Liqui-Lawn Senske Services, which has an office in Kennewick, has acquired Liqui-Lawn.

Located in Longmont, Colorado, Liqui-Lawn has been providing professional lawn care to customers in Longmont, Boulder and Loveland since 1975. This is the sixth acquisition that

Senske has completed in Colorado since entering the market in 2020.

Mattawa approves new housing development

A major new housing development will begin construction in 2023 on 40 acres annexed into the city of Mattawa.

Members of the Mattawa City Council recently voted 6-0 to approve the annexation application and a development agreement between the city and CAD Homes of Moses Lake.

CAD Homes plans to build about 100 homes in five phases over six years.

Both single-family housing and duplexes will be allowed, according to the development plan approved by the council. Owners of single-family homes

will be required to provide at least two parking spaces, and duplexes will require three parking spaces per unit. William and Ellice avenues will be extended to provide the roads in and out of the property. The development agreement requires sidewalks and, if it’s necessary, a pedestrian pathway.

The project will include about two acres set aside for a park and recreation amenities.

About 13 acres of the property will be left undeveloped after the first five phases are completed.

PestCo acquires Pointe Pest Control as part of large consolidation plan

PestCo Holdings LLC has acquired Pointe Pest Control - ID LLC and Pointe Pest Control - OR LLC, known collectively as Pointe Pacific Northwest.

Pointe Pest operates in the Tri-Cities, as well as throughout the state, Idaho, Oregon and Montana, providing residential and commercial pest control services.

PestCo’s acquisition of Pointe Pacific Northwest comes a year after its acquisition of Pointe Illinois and Green Pest Services, which closed in February 2022.

Pointe Pacific Northwest was founded by Jacob Borg, and Pointe Illinois was founded by his brother Jared Borg and his business partner Kyle Woodbury, with the two companies historically operating separately with no affiliation other than their namesake.

Now, with the backing of PestCo’s team and resources, Pointe Pacific Northwest and Pointe Illinois are poised for accelerated growth through the unification of the two brothers’ businesses.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This is the tenth investment for PestCo, an acquisition company formed to consolidate the highly fragmented pest control industry.

Hermiston awards $3 million contract to upgrade roadway

The Hermiston City Council approved a $3 million contract with Nelson Construction to complete extensive roadway upgrades on North First Place.

The project includes the demolition and rebuild of the road between Hermiston Avenue and Elm Avenue, adding a 10-foot-wide asphalt pathway on the east side of the road and filling in nearly 3,000 feet of sidewalk on the west side. It will also add curbs and gutters while clearly designating business driveways along the length of the project.

The walking pathway on the east side of the roadway will include landscaping of crushed rock, bunch grasses and trees, among other improvements.

The work is expected to begin this spring and will continue through the summer and fall. Large sections of the road will be closed during the project.

This work will be paid for through $4.5 million in transportation funds from the state of Oregon awarded to the city of Hermiston in 2017 and designated for use in 2023, with no local funding required.

Plans in works for new hotel, high school, coffee shop, storage facility

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Documents filed under Washington’s environmental review process reveal a list of projects in the works for the Mid-Columbia.

The State Environmental Review Act, or SEPA, often provides the first look at the mixed-use projects, mini storage facilities, apartments, industrial expansions, subdivisions and more that are working their way through the various planning departments of Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties.

Here’s a look at projects that appeared in the SEPA register in the past month.

LivAway Suites

Richland

W77 Acquisitions LLC of Lehi, Utah, has submitted plans to build a four-story LivAway Suites hotel with 126 rooms.

The 2.46 acre undeveloped lot is at 1289 Tapteal Drive, adjacent to Macy’s Furniture Gallery.

LivAway Suites plans a May 3 groundbreaking, according to its website.

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, LivAway Suites is a new economy extended stay hotel with a developer-centric business model and hotel design.

LivAway Suites announced in January that it has arranged $85 million in debt financing through Keystone National Group to begin construction on several hotels nationwide this year.

Kennewick BSP

Kennewick

BRL Development LLC has submitted plans to create 12 lots at 4003 Southridge Blvd., along with a private road system throughout the site. The site is zoned community, commercial and industrial, light.

Structures aren’t currently proposed at the site, but industrial and commercial buildings will be proposed in the future.

KC Help Storage Units

Richland

KC Help has submitted plans to build an 80-by-101-foot, two-story warehouse building at 2505 Van Giesen St. in Richland, plus three storage buildings of varying sizes south of the warehouse. RV/car parking also is proposed along Chester Road.

Construction is scheduled to start in fall 2023 and finish in fall 2025.

KC Help is a Pasco nonprofit that lends medical gear, including wheelchairs, hos-

pital beds, crutches and more. It plans to develop its new headquarters and a commercial self-storage facility on five acres at the corner of Van Giesen Street and the bypass highway.

Sagebrush Montessori

Richland

Knutzen Engineering has submitted plans on behalf of Sagebrush Montessori to build a two-story, 6,130-square-foot building at the corner of Sandford Avenue and Thayer Drive in Richland.

Construction is scheduled to begin in March and finish in August.

Peach Tree Estates

Richland

MD&D Investments LLC has submitted plans to subdivide a 19 acre site south of the intersection of Queensgate Drive and Legacy Lane in Richland into 101 singlefamily lots and rezone it to medium-density residential-small.

The Peach Tree Estates project site is located about 600 feet south of the intersection of Queensgate Drive and Legacy Lane. Apple Valley, phase 7-9 plat

Kennewick

Tri-Cities Development Company LLC has submitted plans to subdivide 49.74 acres at 7165 W. 32nd Ave. in Kennewick into 125 single-family residential lots.

An estimated 336 people would live in the completed project, according to SEPA documents.

Columbia River Seed Phase II

Pasco

Columbia River Seed has submitted plans to build a new 40,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal building for agriculture storage, with a future 20,000-squarefoot expansion, at 187405 Plymouth Commercial Road, Plymouth.

The buildings will be constructed on a 22-acre site.

ATI Inc. plant expansion

Richland

Patrick Lundstrum of Fisher Construction Group submitted plans for site work to expand and add onto the existing ATI Inc. metal recycling and processing facility on the 3000 block of Kingsgate Way in Richland.

Buildings include a 42,000-squarefoot melting plant, 15,000-square-foot maintenance facility and small additions to a material storage and processing facility.

It’s scheduled to be complete in June

2024

Waterways building

Benton City

Richard Rhoades has submitted plans to construct a new 6,000-square-foot building for Waterways, a plumbing contractor, at the end of the cul de sac on Dave Avenue in Benton City. The building will be a warehouse and office for daily operations.

The project includes a gravel yard and fencing.

Five-D RNG Facility

Pasco

ARW LLC has submitted plans for a manure management project that will produce renewable natural gas. The facility

will anaerobically digest the manure from an adjacent dairy to make biogas, which will be scrubbed and upgraded to pipelinegrade methane for injection into the nearby gas transmission line, according to SEPA documents

The project is expected to significantly improve the environmental impact from the dairy and help in the control of nutrient loads on adjoining land.

The site will encompass about 10 to 15 acres at 1580 Kruse Road, Pasco.

Kidwell Concrete Plant

Pasco

Thomas Kidwell Family LLC has submitted plans for a concrete batch plant on

uSEPA, Page B12

Edison Street food park under development in Kennewick

By Jeff Morrow for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

More opportunities are coming for food truck vendors and those who love to frequent them.

Bush Developments is building a food truck park, along with a three-suite building at West Okanogan Place, near Kamiakin High School and just off Edison Street in Kennewick.

Blake Bush of Bush Developments said the food park – which includes a parking lot all ready to go – has a value of $700,000, including the land. The building project is $1.5 million, including land value, he said.

The adjacent food truck park – to be called Edison Food Park – will have space for six trucks. Two tenants have already signed on for a two-year lease.

The Local Bite, which serves up American and pub fare from a food truck, will launch a new food trailer, Tropic Hunger, featuring Hawaiian plate lunches.

The other tenant, Los 3 Amigos, will serve Mexican food.

“We need to have six different types of food in those trucks,” Bush said. “People could come to lunch each day and have something different to eat.”

The food truck park will be ready to go sometime later this spring “as it requires a lot less development. We should have the final permits in about six weeks.”

The new building is expected to be completed in January 2024.

It already has two tenants – JayDay Cafe and Boba, and The Local Bite.

JayDay will operate a drive-through boba tea cafe with baked goods.

There is an available space in between the two restaurants.

“It’s a unique spot,” Bush said.

Hummel Construction is the general contractor, MMEC is the project architect, and Knutzen Engineering is the civil engineer.

The building will be under the brand of Fat Cat Suites and next door to office space sharing the same name.

Bush is building the original Fat Cat Suites with office space.

Fat Cat has one suite, and White Glove Detailing has two.

It was a $2.5 million project.

Blake Bush said the Fat Cat name comes from the Bush brothers “uncle”

Steve, who happens to be his father Tim Bush’s best friend. He lives in Boise.

El Fat Cat Grill, a food truck at 539 N. Edison St. is a separate business.

“He used the name and had a design company do a logo probably, 17, 18 years ago,” Blake said. “It was never a business at that point. He just named a building Fat Cat Enterprises, made shirts and hats with the logo on it.”

Steve’s nickname was Fat Cat, and he used to sponsor Little League teams with that name, added Blake.

“When we wanted to brand our new garages and buildings we were doing, that name sounded like a great name to make our stuff feel like a destination place,” Blake said.

So the brothers – Blake and TJ – asked him if they could use the name and his logo.

“And of course he was super excited to let us keep the brand going,” Blake said.

The new project continues a trend of developing the area across the railroad tracks near Kamiakin High.

Land across the cul de sac from Fat Cat Suites is also owned by Bush Developments, but Blake says they won’t do anything with it until after this latest project is completed.

“The area near Kamiakin High School is becoming busier,” he said. “Our view is that we have businesses here to feed off of each other. You’ve got the sandwich shop, a coffee shop, the car wash that we used to own.

“We used to have 10,000 to 15,000 cars come through there a month. Bruchi’s is always slammed,” he said. “All these businesses will help each other.”

Courtesy Bush Developments

A new food truck park and commercial building is under development at the corner of West Okanogan Place and Edison Street, near Kamiakin High School, in Kennewick.

Post merger, AgWest Farm Credit embraces change

Karina Elias Spokane Journal of Business

AgWest Farm Credit, the newly formed agricultural lending association, plans to focus its resources to enhancing its agricultural customer-owners’ access to technology.

This will enable it to modernize its growing methods and deliver efficient and sustainable products, said Mark Littlefield, president and chief executive officer.

Spokane-based Northwest Farm Credit Services and Rocklin, California-based Farm Credit West completed a merger on

Jan. 1 to form AgWest Farm Credit.

AgWest will serve 22,000 customers throughout 59 locations in seven western states consisting of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, California, Arizona and Alaska.

It has a branch at 9915 Saint Thomas Drive in Pasco.

The combined organization had $30 billion in assets as of Jan. 1, Littlefield said.

Northwest Farm Credit’s assets totaled $15 billion on Sept. 30, up from $13.9 billion a year earlier, according to the most recent call report filed with the federal Farm Credit Administration. Northwest

FCS’s net income was $88 million for the third quarter of 2022, up from $86.8 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Farm Credit West’s assets totaled $14.1 billion on Sept. 30, up from $12.6 billion a year earlier, and its net income was $86 million for the third quarter, up from $76 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Littlefield sees the merger as a forward-looking joining of resources rather than financial need.

Nate Riggers, a farmer in Nez Perce, Idaho, and board chair for Northwest Farm Credit Service, said that while mergers are typically seen as one strong institution acquiring a smaller institution,

that’s not the case with AgWest.

“This is really a merger of equals,” he said. “Both institutions are similar in size, and we saw it as an opportunity to pull our resources and make ourselves more resilient for the future.”

Littlefield said the agricultural industry that AgWest serves has been changing dramatically for decades, mostly centered around agricultural consolidation. As the organization’s customers continue to consolidate and grow larger, so do their needs, Littlefield said.

“It was clear that the trajectory we were on, we would be able to serve more customers as a combined organization than either one of us will be able to do 10 years from now,” he said.

Agricultural technology – GPS technology, heat and moisture sensors, and robots – is changing rapidly, and the cost of that change is expensive, Littlefield said. Being able to finance that technology as a larger organization gives AgWest more capability that Northwest FCS and Farm Credit West would have been able to deliver independently, he said.

“(Farmers) need us to be there for them not only to understand why they need the technology, but also to help them access it, implement it, and understand the risks associated for their business,” he said.

AgWest is a mission-based lender that provides financing and related services to ranchers, agribusinesses, commercial fishermen and timber producers.

Riggers said AgWest’s customers range from a small organic produce farm outside of Seattle to some of the largest seafood processors on the West Coast.

“We needed this merger in order to better serve all our customers, from the smallest to the largest,” he said.

By combining the two institutions, AgWest is better prepared to overcome challenges that it foresees impacting farmers and customer-owners, he said. For example, farmers are confronted with the need to modernize their methods to grow products more efficiently and sustainably, Littlefield said.

The organization also hopes to improve its ability to attract, develop, and retain high quality employees and meet their needs, he said.

AgWest has 1,058 employees, 315 of whom are based at the Spokane headquarters. Littlefield is the former president and CEO of Farm Credit West and recently bought a home in Spokane. He will be transitioning there over the next 90 days to lead AgWest.

Littlefield, who has a background in finance and economics, said he joined the farm credit industry by accident. He hadn’t planned to stay long-term, but after working with farmers and the association’s employees who are committed to ensuring those farmers have what they need in order to grow food, he saw working in farm credit financing as a purposedriven life rather than a career.

“It was an opportunity to be part of something bigger than just what I wanted to do,” he said. “We take our lead from our customer-owners and the fact that that

Fowler lands $8.9M contract for Hanford work

By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Washington River Protection Solutions recently awarded a $8.9 million subcontract to Fowler General Construction to install an interim surface barrier over the U Tank Farm.

This is the fourth time the Richland firm has been tapped to build such a barrier over the underground waste tanks.

The tank farm is a group of underground waste storage tanks that contain radiological and chemical waste generated during past plutonium production at the Hanford site.

The 144,100-square-foot interim asphalt barrier Fowler is to build will help prevent rainwater and snowmelt pushing existing contaminants in the soil closer to

groundwater.

Hanford’s U Tank Farm has 12 tanks, each with a capacity to hold 530,000 gallons, and four tanks each able to hold 55,000 gallons.

WRPS is the Hanford site’s tank farm contractor.

Since its contract with the Department of Energy began in 2008, WRPS has awarded nearly 68% of its subcontracts to small businesses like Fowler Construction, exceeding its overall small-business subcontracting goal of 58%.

“WRPS has long supported local small businesses,” said Gregg Crockett, WRPS business operations manager. “We want to find companies that can effectively and safely complete this critical work.” Construction is expected to wrap in late 2023.

there is purpose in it for them. It’s something you have to know and love.”

Littlefield said he looks forward to training and development services AgWest will have the capability to offer.

In addition, he looks forward to helping customers support the communities they live in. AgWest makes contributions into donor-advised funds for customers to support needs in their communities, such as new hoses for a fire department or resources for a school district.

“(Customers) get to be the ones to engage those resources into their communities,” he said.

AgWest is part of the Farm Credit System, a network of borrower-owned agricultural lending institutions that was created by Congress in 1916 and charged

with financing agriculture, he said.

Littlefield explained that agriculture is cyclical and experiences boom-and-bust periods, and farmers 100 years ago had trouble financing their business because banks would pull out during bust cycles, leaving farmers without credit.

Littlefield added that at the time the Farm Credit System was created, the U.S. had recently entered World War I, and farmers had a difficult time finding financial resources; long-term lending in agriculture was considered risky. Congress evaluated the importance of having a stable food supply, especially in the midst of global war activity and founded the Farm Credit System.

“They recognize that if they could feed their own population even through war time … it was a critical component of national security,” Littlefield said.

AGWEST, From page B10

about 36 acres in Pasco west of Venture Road and south of Pasco-Kahlotus Road. The project will include a portable concrete plant, stockpiles of raw gravel and sand products trucked and stored for plant use and a concrete washdown containment area.

Hogback Starbucks

Pasco

Hogback Development LLC has submitted plans for a 1,100-square-foot building to be used as a Starbucks coffee shop with a drive-thru window.

The undeveloped property is at Three Rivers Drive and Road 68 in Pasco.

McCurley Subaru Quick-Lube

Pasco

Mason McCurley has submitted plans

for a 9,000-square-foot addition to the existing McCurley Subaru at 9620 Sandifur Parkway to provide car maintenance services.

Baker Produce storage building Pasco

Evolv Design Collective LLC has submitted plans to build a 6,400-square-foot addition to the existing Baker Produce facility at 1505 E. Foster Wells Road, Pasco.

The addition will be used to store cardboard boxes and pallets.

USPO – Project North Star Pasco

Syngenta has submitted plans to construct a 22,000-square-foot building to expand the company’s seed processing operations at 5516 Industrial Way in Pasco.

Jefferson Landing Pasco

Lewis Place LLC has submitted plans to rezone an undeveloped parcel on Heritage Boulevard between East Helena Street and East Lewis Street in Pasco to allow for mixed-use residential/commercial for future higher-density residential land use and development.

Pasco High School 3 Pasco

Knutzen Engineering, on behalf of the Pasco School District, has submitted plans to build a new high school on about 65 acres northwest of the Burns Road and Road 60 intersection.

The two-story, roughly 300,000-squarefoot building would hold 2,000 students in grades 9-12.

Old Dominion Freight Line Transfer Terminal Pasco

Old Dominion Freight Line has submitted plans for a 63-door freight transfer terminal and drop yard on the 5800 block of North Capitol Avenue in Pasco.

The building will be 32,000 square feet. Construction is proposed to start in spring 2023 and finish in spring 2024.

Midland South

Pasco

Haven Capital LLC has submitted plans for a 27-unit, single-story apartment complex at Sandifur Parkway and Midland Lane.

Each unit will have two bedrooms, one bathroom and 782 square feet of space.

Reservations are being accepted for ABC Mini Storage’s new facility at 302 Wellsian Way in Richland.

The project includes 526 single-story units and 63,000 square feet of rentable space.

The facility features LED lighting, insulated buildings, vapor barrier in the concrete, wide-drive aisles and hallways, and 33 cameras throughout facility.

The facility offers a bluetooth-enabled site access system, so customers can enter and exit without rolling down their window.

Ryan Daley, president of ABC Mini Storage, said online rentals are going to be streamlined, so customers can rent 24/7 from their phone.

The facility will sell a wide range of packing and moving supplies and will offer new customers free local use of a moving truck.

Construction was $5 million; the land cost $600,000. The project included helping to build a section of Comstock Street, so it will connect George Washington Way to Wellsian Way.

Bruce Baker designed the project.

Mike Holstein of MH Construction was the general contractor.

Jeremy Filbert is the storage facility manager. He can be reached at 509-800-7189.

The 12,000-square-foot project can accommodate one to three tenants. Each suite features heated and insulated warehouse space, as well as a finished office/showroom, depending on tenants’ needs.

The shell is complete, and the interiors will be finished once leased.

The building is suited to tenants seeking a mix of warehouse and office space, such as smaller distribution and contractor businesses.

The project will help to fill the need for

warehouse space in the market. Rents will start at $11 per square foot, plus triple net. Ivy, an investor from western Washington, owns several commercial real estate investments on the west side of the state, as well as four commercial sites in the Tri-Cities. The property is just off North Kellogg Street and behind the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant.

Bruce Baker designed the project.

Hummel Construction is the general contractor

For leasing information, contact Rob Ellsworth with SVN | Retter & Company at 509-430-2378.

PUBLIC RECORD

uBANKRUPTCIES

Bankruptcies are filed under the following chapter headings:

Chapter 7 – Straight Bankruptcy: debtor gives up non-exempt property and debt is discharged. Chapter 11 – Allows companies and individuals to restructure debts to repay them.

Chapter 12 – Allows family farmers or fishermen to restructure finances to avoid liquidation for foreclosure.

Chapter 13 – Plan is devised by the individual to pay a percentage of debt based on ability to pay. All disposable income must be used to pay debts. Information provided by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spokane.

CHAPTER 7

Ryan David Sexton, 1908 Benson Ave., Prosser.

Joel Quinones, 27703 W. Kelly Road, Benton City.

Maria Candelaria Perez, 1504 N. 17th Ave., Pasco.

Joseph Robert Gehring & Danielle Nichole Kauffman, 507 Loader Court, Benton City.

Barbara Fisher, 539 N. Irving St., Kennewick.

Matthew Christopher Story & Megan Elizabeth Story, 1423 Farrell Lane, Richland.

Cesar Manuel Magana-Ramirez, 813 S. Ione St., Kennewick.

Roxanne Rae Leach, 415 Petra Ave.,

#310, Prosser.

Jesus Baltazar & Margarita Ochoa Olivera, 6213 Woodbine Drive, Pasco.

Sergio Arrendondo Favela, 513 S. Wyoming St., Kennewick.

Alma Yadira Orozco, 250 Gage Blvd., #3088, Richland.

Celia T. Alejandro, 5712 Westminster Lane, Pasco.

Timothy Jay Eshelman, 7823 White Bluff Court, Pasco.

Courtney Joann Gillard, 8414 Tucker Court, Pasco.

Soleados Estates LLC, 8524 W. Gage Blvd., Suite A1-315, Kennewick.

Marko Grbic, 3056 S. Harrison St., Kennewick.

John Stewart Baird & Dawn Maria Thuringer-Baird, 1985 Forest Ave., Richland.

Michelle Ann Watson, 6005 Chapel Hill Blvd., #E202, Pasco.

Vanessa Guenivere Maddux, 2513 Duportail St., #C114, Richland.

Francisco J. Contreras & Brenda R. Camacho, 6202 Maryhill Lane, Pasco.

CHAPTER 13

Kimberlee Jean Aubrey, 2025 W. Third Ave., Kennewick.

Jedediah Wells Morris & Rawni Scarlett Morris, 288 Wishkah Drive, Richland.

Steven Michael Blush, 2381 Delle Celle Drive, Richland.

uTOP PROPERTIES

Top property values listed start at $700,000 and have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure. Property values are public record and can be found by visiting the county assessor’s office.

BENTON COUNTY

570, 576, 594,606, 642 Lazio Way, Richland, home sites ranging in size between 0.21 to 0.26. Price: $855,000. Buyer: Riverwood Homes Washington LLC. Seller: Siena Hills Development LLC. 3605 S. Zintel Way, Kennewick, 6-acre commercial/industrial property. Price: $1 million. Buyer: Devi Holdings LLC. Seller: Circle One Properties LLC. 1585 Dale Ave., Benton City, 6,500-square-foot warehouse and office on 2 acres. Price: $1.3 million. Buyer: 3M Investments LLC. Seller: Rick Paul & Mary L. Fratus. 4096 Clover Road, Richland, 2,335-square-foot home. Price: $735,000. Buyer: Jeffrey Ray Klatt & Shelley Elizabeth Lilly. Seller: Lotts Better Built Homes Inc.

4001 W. 43rd, Kennewick, 3,468-square-foot home. Price: $852,000. Buyer: John F. & Catherine M. Schmoll. Seller: John T. & Debra J. Feo. 2497 Legacy Lane, Richland, 2,563-square-foot home. Price: $820,000. Buyer: Carlos Alberto Bonilla Melendez & Marilyn Rivera Hernandez.

Seller: Pahlisch Homes at Westcliffe Heights II LLC.

104318 E. Nicole Drive, Kennewick, 2,938-square-foot home. Price:

$725,000. Buyer: Mohamad Hussain & Jennifer Prater. Seller: Paul N. Seeley.

3720 S. Zintel Way, Kennewick,

1.5 acres of commercial land. Price:

$784,000. Buyer: Idaho Central Credit

Union. Seller: Circle One Properties LLC.

413 Ventus St., Richland, 2,736-squarefoot home. Price: $729,000. Buyer:

Donghui Xu & Xinhang Li. Seller: Pahlisch

Homes at Westcliffe Heights II LLC.

424 Keene Road, Richland,

4,544-square-foot restaurant. Price: $2.2

million. Buyer: Circle One Properties LLC. Seller: OPH DBD LLC.

7354 W. 22nd Ave., Kennewick, 2,486-square-foot home. Price:

$850,000. Buyer: Zhiqing Xing & Linlan

Wu. Seller: Signature Homes LLC.

1301 S. Quay St., Kennewick,

4,176-square-foot home and pole building on 1.22 acres. Price: $750,000.

Buyer: Caleb M. & Kimberly B. Aldinger. Seller: Peter E. Seda.

2604 Casa Bella Ave., Richland,

3,028-square-foot home. Price:

$770,000. Buyer: Mark A. & Alexis

Romero. Seller: New Tradition Homes Inc.

305 Rachel Road, Kennewick, 2,006-square-foot home. Price:

$870,000. Buyer: Israel Restor Ramirez & Claudia Maricela Restor. Seller: Michelle Bell.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B18

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2646 & 2699 S. Wilson St.; 6945, 6944 & 6812 W. 25th Ave.; 6744, 6907 & 6925 W. 27th Ave., Kennewick, home sites. Price: $825,000. Buyer: Hayden Homes LLC. Seller: HHIF VI LLC.

3480 Northlake Drive, West Richland,

1.17-acre home site. Price: $1.3 million. Buyer: Luke B. Dahl & Shruthi Aradhya. Seller: Tri-City Remodel LLC.

1725 W. 52nd Ave., Kennewick,

3,067-square-foot home. Price: $834,000. Buyer: Samuel S. & Andrea E. Braithwaite. Seller: Darren J. Wagoner & Joan White-Wagoner.

7220 W. 22nd Place, Kennewick,

2,792-square-foot home. Price: $815,000. Byer: Amer Khouri & Aghadeer Hijazin. Seller: Brent Fraser. 3550 Northlake Drive, West Richland,

2,571-square-foot home on 1.17-acre site. Price: $860,000. Buyer: Mark Jonathan & Jessica Renee Bricker. Seller: S&C Planning & Development LLC.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

513 W. Juniper Road, Mesa, 1,620-square-foot home on 219 acres of ag land. Price: $2.9 million. Buyer: Lash Partnership. Seller: Fangman Family LLC.

Property south of Chestnut and east of Wahluke roads to west of Basin City, 113 acres of ag land. Price: $1.2 million. Buyer: Easterday Land & Livestock LLC. Seller: Bellflower Farms LLC.

8217 & 8205 Concord Crest Lane, 8112 Trellis Court, Pasco, 1-acre undeveloped land parcels. Price: $1.4 million. Buyer: Hammerstrom Construction Inc. Seller: Big Sky Developers LLC. 927 W. Opal St., 823 & 819 S. Seventh Ave., Pasco, 4,116-square-foot multi-family, 2,204-square-foot multifamily, 2,204-square-foot four-plex and 2,175-square-foot multifamily residential buildings. Price: $1.3 million. Buyer: Carlos Arellano. Seller: R & N Apartment Management I LLC.

1909 W. Court St., Pasco, 5,004-square-foot self-serve car wash, drive-thru car wash, 1,880-square-foot mini mart. Price: $1.5 million. Buyer: Pasco Store LLC. Seller: Pearl K M LLC.

2410 N. Fourth Ave., Pasco, 5,000-square-foot material storage shed, 11,160-square-foot warehouse. Price: $2.4 million. Buyer: Bridge Haven LLC. Seller: Swearingen Family LLC.

12415 Hunter Road, Pasco, 2,448-square-foot home. Price: $720,000. Buyer: Tucker J. & Ingrid E. Roundy. Seller: Justin Lee & Nanci A. Kohler.

Property south of Interstate 182 and north of Saint Thomas Drive, 3.21 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $2 million. Buyer: Overturf Properties LLC.

Seller: Mountain Men LLC.

14020 Glade North Road, 134 acres of ag land. Price: $919,000. Buyer: Clay A. Lindquist (40% ownership). Seller: Wylie Farms LLC (et al.) (60% ownership).

12600 Whiskey River Road, Pasco, 0.53 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $1.2 million. Buyer: Jose G. Ramos Jr. (et al.). Seller: Hammerstrom Construction Inc.

uBUILDING PERMITS

BENTON COUNTY

S. Martinez Livestock, 176194 W. 249 PR NW, Sunnyside, $80,000 for antenna/ tower. Contractor: Mastec Network Solutions.

Richard Yoder, 195908 E. 27th Ave., Kennewick, $20,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: SAC Wireless LLC.

Washington State University, 24106 N. Bunn Road, Prosser, $20,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Burton Construction Inc.

KENNEWICK

Hendrickson Fir Grove, 1305 W. Fourth Ave., $20,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: Presco Telecommunications. Marcy Robertson, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 455, $5,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Lakeview

Construction.

Mathews Auto Body, 719 N. Garfield St., $98,000 for commercial remodel, $7,000 for heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: owner, Bruce Mechanical Inc. Meier Inc., property at corner of Kennewick Avenue and Washington Street, $15,000 for sign. Contractor: Ray Poland & Sons Inc.

EIG14T, 2601 Plaza Way, $8,000 for sign. Contractor: Mustang Sign Group. Victoria Caballere, 1120 N. Edison St., $17,000 for sign. Contractor: Cascade Sign & Fabrication.

Columbia River Warehouse, 10 E. Bruneau Ave., $7,000 for fire alarm system.

Contractor: Moon Security Services Inc.

Jane Schmid-Cook, 201 N. Edison St., #236, $7,200 for fire alarm system.

Contractor: Performance Systems Integration.

Ambience Investments, 2203 W. Fourth Ave., Suite B, $30,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Kingdom Property Improvements.

Pete’s Way Inc., 901 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $16,000 for heat pump/HVAC.

Contractor: Campbell Cool Electric Plumbing.

Port of Kennewick, 325 E. Columbia Gardens Way, $7,500 for new commercial, $8,000 for plumbing. Contractors: Double J Excavating Inc., Silverline Electric/Plumbing.

Wallace Properties, 128 S. Ely St., $100,000 for mechanical, $15,000 for plumbing. Contractor: Greg Senger

Construction.

Hutton Settlement, 4309 W. 27th Place, #C104, $100,000 for commercial remodel, $5,500 for plumbing. Contractors: owner, Riggle Plumbing.

Kennewick School District, 7001 W. 13th Ave., $51,000 for fire alarm system.

Contractor: Evco Integrated Solutions. ABS WA-O LLC, 5204 W. Clearwater Ave., $30,000 for fire alarm system. Contractor: A&D Fire.

Wallace Properties, 2925 W. Kennewick Ave., $14,000 for fire alarm system.

Contractor: Inland Alarm LLC. RDG LLC, 4112 W. 24th Ave., $55,000 for fence/retaining wall. Contractor: owner.

Vista Field Industrial Park, 6416 W. Hood Place, #A150, $14,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: owner. Joyco, 4212 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite A, $5,000 for heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Americool Heating & Air. Madison Tomaino, 2062 N. Steptoe St., $55,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor:

Mastec Network Solutions.

WW Real Estate LLC, 10379 W. Clearwater Ave., $43,000 for heat pump/ HVAC. Contractor: Bruce Mechanical Inc.

Rikki Cook, 10421 W. Clearwater Ave., $601,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Banlin Construction Co.

Eig14t, 3601 Plaza Way, $20,000 for sign. Contractor: Mustang Sign Group. Hutton Settlement, 4309 W. 27th Place, #C104, $8,000 for sign. Contractor:

Mustang Sign Group.

Sheila Erickson, 3315 W. Clearwater Ave., #100, $16,000 for sign. Contractor:

Mustang Sign Group.

Kennewick School District, 5929 W. Metaline Ave., $65,000 for fire alarm system. Contractor: Evco Sound & Electronics Inc.

WW Real Estate LLC, 10379 W. Clearwater Ave., $916,000 for new commercial, $18,000 for plumbing. Contractors:

Clearspan Steel LLC, Evergreen Plumbing LLC.

Chris Padgett, 1321 N. Columbia

a networking group of local, trusted industry leaders who provide outstanding services and quality products.

Center Blvd., #455, $1.3 million for commercial remodel, $200,000 for mechanical, $50,000 for plumbing. Contractors:

Lakeview Construction LLC, Silverline Electric, Plumbing, HVAC.

Jerry Brinkley, 6116 W. Brinkley Road, $905,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Aden Masonry Inc.

A-1 Kennewick LLC, 7048 W. Grandridge Blvd., $24,000 for sign. Contractor: Advanced Electric Signs.

Crossroads Bible Church, 302 S. Quincy St., $9,000 for heat pump/HVAC.

Contractor: owner.

KIE Supply Corp., 113 E. Columbia

Drive, $10,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Turping Construction LLC.

PASCO

Port of Pasco, 3806 Stearman Ave., #71, $290,000 for commercial addition.

Contractor: Mascott Equipment Co. Inc.

Rutt Rental Inc., 1103 E. Columbia St., $20,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: to be determined.

Pasco School District, 4403 W. Court St., Suite B, $243,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: G2 Commercial Construction Inc.

Rutt Rental LLC, parcel 112 084 167, $25,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: to be determined.

Franklin County, 6333 Homerun Road, $1.2 million for heat pump/HVAC. Con-

tractor: McKinstry Co. LLC.

Star Group Inc., 611 W. Columbia St., $15,000 for fire alarm system. Contractor: Moon Security Services Inc.

Department of Natural Resources, 3505 Road 68, $80,000 for sign, $5,000 for commercial addition. Contractors: B H Inc., CO2 Monitoring LLC.

M & L Contractor LLC, 1724 E. Salt Lake St., $200,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Big D’s Construction of TC.

Empire Bros. Construction, 3006 Blaine

St., $5,800 for accessory building. Contractor: Empire Bros Construction.

3M Investments LLC, 2205 N. Commercial Ave., $551,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Osborn Construction & Design. Ivanko Gardens LLC, 1125 E. Spokane St., $80,000 for commercial addition.

Contractor: LCR Construction LLC.

Aziz Yusra A&Z Investments, 415 W. Lewis St., $35,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Jacobs & Rhodes Inc.

M2 Property Investments, 1879 N. Commercial Ave., $18,000 for fire alarm system. Contractor: Camtek Inc. Cittagazze LLC, 1336 Dietrich Road, $17,000 for fire alarm system. Contractor: Future Link Communications.

HAPO Community Credit Union, $65,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Flynn BEC LP.

CRF Properties LLC, 224 S. 24th Ave., $5,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Robertson Builders.

K & S Family Enterprises, 1935 E. Superior St., $8,000 for fire alarm system.

Contractor: Fire Protection Specialists. Coria and Sons LLC, 2505 E. A St., $283,000 for new commercial. Contractor: to be determined.

Nicolas Reynaldo Chavez, 621 W. Clark St., $43,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: owner.

3E Properties, 5235 Industrial Way, $6,000 for fire alarm system. Contractor: Vyanet Operation Group Inc.

Anderw H. and Susan L. Landram, 1804 W. Lewis St., $23,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner.

Angel O. Garcia Alvarez, 919 W. Court St., $20,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Quality Signs.

Franklin PUD, 1411 W. Clear St., $35,000 for fire alarm system. Contractor: Fire Protection Specialists.

Port of Pasco, 3070 Rickenbacker Drive, $140,000 for mechanical. Contractor:

LCR Construction LLC. Rodeo Dr LLC, 6902 Rodeo Drive, $200,000 for grading. Contractor: Elite Construction & Development. City of Pasco, 7510 Sandifur Parkway, $65,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: Mastec Network Solutions. Pasco Lodging Partners, 6830 Rodeo Drive, $6,000 for grading. Contractor: Elite Construction & Development.

PROSSER

MS Prosser Group, 1230 Meade Ave., $8,000 for heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: 509 Ductless LLC. City of Prosser, 315 Sixth St., $71,000 for accessory building. Contractor: Tapani Inc.

RICHLAND

Siefken Family LLC, 1305 Mansfield St., Suite B, $20,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: Mastec Network Solutions. Ben Franklin Transit, 1026 Columbia Park Trail, $8.5 million for new commercial. Contractor: Fowler General Construction.

JJB Tech Holdings, 2801 George Washington Way, $10 million for new commercial. Contractor: Fowler General Construction.

Washington Security and Investment Corp., 2290 Keene Road, $75,000 for fence/retaining wall. Contractor: TTap Construction Services. David Black, 743 Gage Blvd., $50,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Kaizen Construction and Development. Arborpointe Apartments, 315 Greentree Court, $20,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Silver Bow Roofing. IMD Development, 3023 Duportail St., $250,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Management Resource Systems. Oregon Metallurgic, 3101 Kingsgate Way, $67,000 for grading. Contractor:

from

Fisher Construction Group. Agape Collective, 492 Wellsian Way, $194,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Elite Construction & Development.

CP Apartments LLC, 1782 Jadwin Ave., $9,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Cliff Thorn Construction.

DSHS Lands & Buildings, 605 McMurray St., $6,600 for plumbing. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

WEST RICHLAND

Ranchland Homes LLC, 7850 Paradise Way, Buildings F, G, H, Q, R, S, $3 million for multifamily homes. Contractor: Ranchland Homes LLC.

Travis Greenwood, 3200 Bombing Range Road, $15,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: owner. Michael S. Scott, 5548 Astoria Road, $13,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: Presco Telecommunications.

uBUSINESS LICENSES

KENNEWICK

Strom Electric, 405 S. Main St., Troy, Idaho.

Dry Canyon Communications LLC, 4585 SW 21st St., Suite 102, Redmond, Oregon.

RA Exteriors & Construction LLC, 1022 Alexis Lane, North Keizer, Oregon. Sattel Broadband ATK, 111 E. Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Portland Quality Meats Inc., 905 NE

Cleveland Ave., Gresham, Oregon.

Edge Consulting Engineers Inc., 624 Water St., Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin. Northcomm LLC, 213 Cascade View Court, East Wenatchee. Inland Alarm LLC, 1100 Ahtanum Road, uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B20

Be a safe, responsible driver

You can MAKE A DIFFERENCE in our community by committing to ALWAYS DRIVE DISTRACTION FREE.

In Washington it is our goal to have ZERO people in your household be involved in a serious or fatal crash.

TIPS for driving distraction

• SET IT AND FORGET IT: Turn your phone off, set it to do not disturb, or put it in airplane mode.

• PLAN AHEAD: Schedule 10 minutes before you hit the road to take care of things that could distract you.

• TAKE A BREAK: For longer trips, build in breaks every two or three hours to use your phone, change playlists or have a snack.

• SET THE EXAMPLE: Always put your phone out of reach when you drive to help your family members pick up the habit. Remember: no matter how old your kids are, they’re learning to drive from your example.

free:

• OUT OF REACH, OUT OF MIND: Put your phone physically out of reach.

• MAKE THE CAR A DEVICE-FREE ZONE: Enjoy the ride and surroundings rather than letting people use their phones or game systems in your car.

• PASSENGER PARTNERSHIPS: Ask passengers to assist with responding to phone messages, music or even settling down other passengers in the vehicle.

B20 TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MARCH 2023

Yakima.

Grandridge Eye Clinic, 7131 W. Deschutes Ave.

Columbia River Steel & Construction Inc., 813 Wallace Way, Grandview.

Torres Flooring LLC, 730 W. A St., Pasco.

Rock Hard Granite II LLC, 2143 Henderson Loop, Richland.

Kelley Imaging Systems Inc., 22710

72nd Ave. South, Kent.

INW Industrial Training LLC, 901 E. Second Ave., Spokane.

Apex Hood Cleaning Inc., 2008 Caton Way SW, Olympia.

Northern Hardwood Co. Inc., 617 N.

Columbia Deer Park.

CMQ LLC, dba Discount Vac and Sew, 119 W. First Ave.

Tap That Beverage LLC, 107 S. Penn

St. Meraki Studio LLC, 7139 W. Hood

Place.

Ilin Construction LLC, 2451 N. Rhode Island Court.

Hernandez Framing, 830 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

A&D Restorations LLC, 5302 W. 12th Ave. Valley Science and Engineering Inc., 1009 N. Center Parkway.

Alpha Homes & Development Corp., 912 W. Opal St., Pasco.

Eden Mountain Contracting, 4813

Bilbao Drive, Pasco.

Blazing Grace Nephrology, 901 S. Auburn St.

Pro Commercial Cleaning Co. LLC, 821 S. Hartford St.

Vanguard Homes LLC, 6855 W. Clearwater Ave.

Nany’s Day Care, 10503 S. 2034 PR SE. Kingdom Property Improvements LLC, 3307 Emerald Downs Lane, Pasco.

M & M Mechanical LLC, 1121 W. Nixon St., Pasco.

Santillan Homes LLC, 11006 W. Court St., Pasco.

Trek Construction, 27305 N. 251 PR NW, Benton City.

Diamond Cut Coatings LLC, 110 S. Irving St.

Bautista’s Lawn Care LLC, 2533 Banyon St., Richland. Elizabeth Villasenor-Moran, 2017 W. Ninth Place.

Pro-Claim Billing Solutions, 2305 W. Kennewick Ave.

Ivan X Hair, 1321 N. Columbia Blvd., Suite 205-A.

TBI Diagnostic Center, 4916 Center St., Tacoma.

Limitless Heating and Cooling LLC, 5320 Mariner Lane, Pasco.

Genesis Flooring LLC, 4315 Sahara Drive, Pasco.

Josephine Siegel, 5114 Point Fosdick

Drive, Suite F-3021, Gig Harbor.

Pet Supplies Plus, 2913 W. Kennewick

Ave. Noble HVAC Services, 920 Road 44, Pasco.

Sharetea, 128 S. Ely St.

Extreme Welding, 1912 S. Ione St.

M & L Precision Painting LLC, 41507 E. Ridgecrest Drive NE, Benton City.

MJ’s Lawn Services LLC, 206009 E. Bowles Road.

Certapro Painters Of Central Washington, 1118 W. Lincoln Ave., Yakima. Sage CPA, 22 N. Williams St.

Big Sky Equipment LLC, 3103 S. Dayton St.

Desert Lawn Maintenance LLC, 4103

Meadowsweet St., Pasco.

Allegiance Construction LLC, 1700 W. 35th Ave.

Quality Plus Auto Glass, 16 N. Kellogg

St.

The Bubbly Boba, 201 N. Edison St.

LBI Auto Sales, 8514 W. Gage Blvd.

General One Contracting, 490 Bradley Blvd., Richland.

Ithaca Homes, 1426 S. Vancouver St.

Kristine Kohl Photography, 6302 W.

Yellowstone Ave.

Young & Co., 4600 W. 34th Court.

Pendell Construction, 311 N. Almira Ave., Connell.

Tri-Cities Handyman Services, 448 S.

Buchanan Place.

R & R Quality Framing LLC, 1731 N. 18th Drive, Pasco.

Dj Krayzie-C Entertainment, 4505 W. Fifth Ave.

Lawless Towing & Recovery LLC, 358

Cottonwood Drive, Richland.

I Clean LLC, 4509 Desert Plateau Drive, Pasco.

Shots With That LLC, 30 S. Louisiana

St.

Kennewick Singers Company, 2501 W. 40th Ave.

V Boutique, 5453 Ridgeline Drive.

Kennewick Suites, 321 N. Johnson St.

SCM Cleaning Services LLC, 3708 W.

Clearwater Ave.

Mocha Express Tri-Cities, 2802 W. 10th

Ave.

Planned Parenthood Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley, 2209 W. Sixth Ave.

Dream Spa, 5612 W. Clearwater Ave.

Jess Desserts, 4806 S. Washington St.

Family Tree Dental, 100 N. Fruitland St.

Lynx Medical Group, 6855 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite A101.

Soleen Hair Studio, 10121 W. Clearwater Ave.

VF Construction, 1137 S. Cedar Place.

Fisk’s Fencing LLC, 205 E. 15th Ave.

Mackenzie J. Lloyd, 1020 N. Center

Parkway.

Magnum Promotions, 509 W. Wagon

Wheel PR NW, Benton City.

Neptune Society – Kennewick, 4309 W. 27th Place.

Columbia Mobile Village Holdings LLC, 4815 W. Clearwater Ave.

Olson Family Group LLC, 9330 State Ave., Marysville.

NurseMD Services, 15911 S. Ridge

View Lane.

Rainbow Stylings LLC, 5031 W. Clearwater Ave.

Abundant Health Alliance LLC, 4015 W.

Clearwater Ave.

Iolani Alamea Leal, 2608 S.

Clearwater Ave.

Spectrum Pacific West LLC, 639A N.

Kellogg St.

1716 S. Olson LLC, 200 W. 50th Ave.

Robert G. Lack, 4911 W. Canal Drive.

Maxola Traders, 3572 W. 11th Place.

Carniceria Madrigal Tri-Cities LLC, 516

E. First Ave.

The Busy Bee Diner, 1505 W. Kennewick Ave.

The Shop, 20 E. 15th Ave.

Kimball Smile Pros LLC, 216 N. Edison

St.

The Cart Company, 98902 N. Har-

rington Road, West Richland.

Legacy Barber Shop, 135 N. Ely St.

3 Rivers Landscaping LLC, 731 S. Elm Ave. Pasco.

Ann Pearson Piano, 8510 W. First Place.

Rafael Oro, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd.

Mommacare, 5407 W. 17th Ave.

Phat Donnie’s Garage, 1031 W. Columbia Drive.

Dogwatch of the Columbia Basin, 3511

W. 46th Ave.

Bennett Smile Pros LLC, 216 N. Edison

St.

360 Mobile Detailing, 2105 N. Steptoe St.

PASCO

The Hunny Do Crew LLC, 1910 Butler Loop, Richland.

Vanessa’s Beauty & Barber Salon, 1416 W. Clark St.

How Sweet It Is, 710 George Washington Way.

Pioneer Packaging, 5818 Industrial Way.

Struxure Outdoor of Washington, 9116

E. Sprague Ave. #547, Spokane Valley.

Greentech Renewables, 2201 E. Ainsworth Ave., #2.

Just Roses & More, 1835 W. Court St.

Iceman NW LLC, 4303 Marie Court.

Bob’s Auto Body, 2021 N. Third Ave.

Tri-Cities Property Preservation, 114 E. Second Ave., Kennewick.

Allhorror365 LLC, 181 Boyer Drive, Walla Walla.

Lucky Bao LLC, 110 S. Fourth Ave.

Stein Skin & Care, 3330 W. Court St.

Damaris Hernandez, 4514 Tamworth

Lane.

Kristina Turner, 318 W. Pearl St., #A102.

Massana Construction Inc., 4810 Point

Fosdick Drive #237, Gig Harbor.

King Roofing LLC, 2032 S. Arthur Loop, Kennewick.

Clock5 LLC, 925 N. California Ave.

Deck The Halls LLC, 2411 Harris Ave., Richland.

Ace Handyman Service Tri-Cities, 7325

W. Deschutes Ave., Suite B, Kennewick.

Hello Sunshine Cleaning, 2203 Duportail St., Richland.

Mar De Letras Early Learning, 5815

Larrabee Lane.

El Toro Towing LLC, 925 S. Maitland

Ave.

American Carports Inc., 170 Holy Springs Church, Mt Airy, North Carolina.

D.M. Grant Concrete and Construction Inc., 7022 W. 13th Ave., Kennewick.

Cleanings Delamora, 1505 S. Road 40 E. , #207.

Ziply Fiber, 135 Lake St. S., Suite 155, Kirkland.

Ziply Fiber Pacific LLC, 135 Lake St. South, Suite 155, Kirkland.

CGG Construction LLC, 310 W Columbia St., Suite 2. Kevin Steele (Uber), 203638 E. Perkins Road, Kennewick.

Pond Muongmany (Via), 5403 W. Tucannon Ave., Kennewick.

Popeyes #13805, 5814 Road 68.

Rory A Asplund (Uber), 703 Sanford Ave., Kennewick.

Tory Mayo (Uber), 457 Cherry Blossom, Richland.

Shari Reese (Via), 520 Bershire St., Richland.

• The Dining room can accommodate 130 people

• The newly remodeled 19th Hole Event Center has a 130 people capacity

• Heritage room can accommodate 15 guests with or without use of Golf Simulator

• Legends room can accommodate 12 people 509-783-6131

Chloe Marie Kloss (Uber), 1122 W. Sunset Drive, Burbank. Michael Ramirez (Uber), 6008 Dodger Drive.

Oleg Novoselskiy (Uber), 7422 W. Yellowstone Ave. Heather Olheiser (Via), 720 S. Yelm Place, Kennewick.

RICHLAND

La Vapor Wholesale Inc., 8725 Golden Spike Lane, Houston. RTJN Enterprises Inc., 2888 Concord Blvd., Concord. Cleary Building Corp., 190 Paoli St., Verona.

CoolSys Commercial & Industrial Solutions Inc., 145 S. State College Blvd., Brea, California.

Hotel Internet Services LLC, 50 S. Belcher Road, Clearwater.

Purple Diamond Construction LLC, 821 College St., Milton-Freewater.

Iron Horse LLC, 5501 NE 223rd Ave., Fairview.

NEC Cloud Communications America Inc., 3929 W. John Carpenter Freeway, Irving.

Vertiv Corp., 505 N. Cleveland Ave., Westerville.

Four Point Construction LLC, 811 Babs Ave., Benton City.

Best of Care LLC, 2848 Cascade Cove Drive, Little Elm. Forge Building Company LLC, 2785 N. Bogus Basin Road, Boise. Sterling Telecomm Construction, 802 134th St. SW, Everett. Dowl, 8410 154th Ave. NE, Redmond. Transblue, 12613 Ingraham Road, Snohomish.

Construction Group International LLC, 19407 144th Ave. NE, Building D, Woodinville.

Quality Restoration Solutions LLC, 2331 W. A St., Pasco.

Ground-up Construction, 9605 S. Lex-

ington St., Kennewick.

Elemental State of Mind, 920 Smith Ave.

Jay’s Concrete, 381 Puterbaugh Road, Grandview.

Duncan’s Property Clean Up & Hauling, 41 Pine Glen Court, Easton.

West Coast Plumbing Inc., 7419 204th St. NE, Arlington.

Performance Heating and Air Conditioning Inc., 1012 Central Ave. South, Kent.

Landau Associates, 155 NE 100th St., Seattle.

Wesmar Company Inc., 5720 204th St. SW, Lynnwood.

Antoinette Marie Harris, 610 Ninth St., Benton City.

Precision Approach Engineering Inc., 119 Grand Ave., Bellingham.

Advanced Foundation Supports LLC, 22102 Spruce Drive, Monroe.

North American Terrazzo, 501 S. Lucile St., Suite 100, Seattle.

D.M. Grant Concrete and Construction Inc., 7022 W. 13th Ave., Kennewick. Sysco Food Service of Seattle, 22820 54th Ave. South, Kent.

Colonial Plaster & Drywall, 619 W. Shoshone St., Pasco.

Tri J’s Drywall, 51 N. Edison St., #H204, Kennewick.

Cakes By Lisa LLC, 4203 W. Third Ave., Kennewick.

Edwards Construction Group, 600 S. 74th Place, Ridgefield.

Myprocontractor, 5426 N. Road 68, Pasco.

Skills Construction & Development, 4903 Antigua Drive, Pasco.

Jr Construction LLC, 2310 Tear Road, Grandview.

Blue Mountain Granite LLC, 3408 W. Pearl St., Pasco.

Youngblood’s Flooring LLC, 5700 W. 11th Ave., Kennewick.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B22

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B22 TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | MARCH 2023

W&G Flooring LLC, 1617 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick.

First Impressions Flooring LLC, 6916

W. Yellowstone Ave., Kennewick.

Sanchez Bros. Construction LLC, 502

S. Camas Ave., Wapato.

Cervantes Cleaning LLC, 315 N. Waldemar Ave., Pasco.

EB Teamwork PLLC, 1260 E. Spencer Court, La Center.

Amanda Catherine, 140 Gage Blvd.

Home Cosmetic Solutions, 5520 Arthur Lane, Pasco.

B J J Painting LLC, 218406 E. Highway 397, Kennewick.

Dynasty Roofing, 8316 N. Colton Place, Spokane.

Works For Me LLC, 8522 W. Sixth Ave.,

Kennewick.

Clark Airmotive LLC, 1892 Birch Ave.

Devout Excavation LLC, 24420 N. Or-

chard Bluff Road, Chattaroy.

Amos Construction, 59111 E. 95 PR

SE, Benton City.

Frank Meyer Construction, 107105 N.

Harrington Road, West Richland.

ELC Group Contractor Inc., 5230 NE

66th Drive, Vancouver.

Revolution Energy Systems Inc., 4425

100th St. SW, Lakewood.

Dawson Richards Tux Shop, 1350

Jadwin Ave.

Sant Co., 4709 Cathedral Drive, Pasco.

Fast and Easy Construction, 503 Buckboard Court.

Ace Handyman Service Tri-Cities, 7325

W. Deschutes Ave., Kennewick.

King Roofing LLC, 2302 S. Arthur Loop

Kennewick.

Fernando Magana, 36307 S. Gerards Road, Kennewick.

KR Painting LLC, 2419 Bramasole Drive.

Hello Sunshine Cleaning, 2203 Duportail

St.

Don Kollenborn, 2724 Sawgrass Loop.

Tri-Cities Concrete Pumping LLC, 210

E. Albany Ave., Kennewick.

Clearview Window Cleaning & Power

Washing, 1333 Tapteal Drive.

POPG Baskets By Angela, 1410 Gunnison Court.

Where Ever Records, 2004 Torbett St.

Aileen’s Party Rental, 407 S. Hugo Ave.,

Pasco.

Plsmith Properties LLC, 4851 Corvina St.

Nacho’s Landscape LLC, 8415 Wembley

Drive, Pasco.

Eagles Quality Painting LLC, 1505 S.

Road 40 E., Pasco.

Fate Painting LLC, 35703 N. Flagstone

Drive, Benton City

Elevated Medias, 701 Canyon St.

Hair and Beauty by Ariel, 480 Keene

Road.

VMD Properties LLC, 832 Waylon Drive, West Richland.

Posh Design & Staging LLC, 89205 E. Sagebrush Road, Kennewick.

Nate’s Painting Services LLC, 1107 Birch Ave.

Horse Heaven Hills Candle Co., 14915

W. Yakitat Place, Benton City.

Ignite Fireplace Services LLC, 139 Riverwood St.

Dulce Coffee Bar LLC, 4811 Kalahari Drive, Pasco.

Cool Of the Day Collective, 2300 Boulder

St.

M & J Quality Construction LLC, 66802

N. 82 PR NE, Benton City.

Origin Construction Corp., 1107 E. Hastings Road, Spokane.

Laura Miller, 3101 Bluffs Drive.

Angie Tyree Art, 2158 Hudson Ave.

EDN Agriculture, 1107 E. Hastings Road, Spokane.

Shining Janitorial Services LLC, 3708 S.

Everett St., Kennewick.

GS Flooring LLC, 16310 S. Gertrude St., Kennewick.

Vanesita’s Cleaning Services, 3422 S. Conway Court, Kennewick.

Tats Tattoo Company, 450 Williams Blvd.

Soak N. Clean, 1835 S. Neel Court, Kennewick.

Shari Ann Reese, 520 Berkshire St.

Framed Photo Booth Co., 6581 Cyprus Loop, West Richland. Slobedies Construction LLC, 4103 Kechika Lane, Pasco.

Flowschooling, 723 The Parkway.

Deluxe Security Systems, 7611 Pender Drive, Pasco.

Enciso Construction LLC, 1805 W. Seventh Place, Kennewick.

Refresh Home Remodeling & Services LLC, 114 N. Olympia St., Kennewick.

Diane Hanks PLLC, 705 Gage Blvd.

Head 2 Toez, 1315 George Washington Way.

Joe B. Schroeder Consulting, 7115 W. Sixth Ave., Kennewick.

Uvalle Construction LLC, 5801 W. Ruby St., Pasco.

Tri-Cities Handyman Services LLC, 8132

W. Hood Ave., Kennewick.

Busy Beaver Cleaning, 1327 N. 24th Ave., Pasco.

The Kozy Kup, 955 Northgate Drive.

Carroll Bookkeeping Solutions LLC, 1769 Duluth St.

George Champlain, 2636 Sandpiper

Loop.

Alecia White, 358 Ray Blvd., Burbank.

Trejo Barrientos, Maria Gabriela, 4815

W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. Moonstone Mobile Aesthetics LLC,

5307 Hayes Lane, Pasco.

A&R Pacific N.W. Construction LLC, 5418 Marbella Lane, Pasco. Wyandotte Services LLC, 1132 W. Margaret St., Pasco.

JD Torres Landscaping Inc., 29 N. Mayfield St., Kennewick.

S&S Excavation and Construction LLC,

2602 S. Lyle St., Kennewick.

JCI, 1607 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick. Empire Asphalt Services LLC, 6509

James St., West Richland.

Mr. Renovator LLC, 1907 Riverview Drive, Pasco.

Optimal Growth LLC, 1722 W. 14th Ave., Kennewick.

Five Star Painting of Richland and

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Name to mail to

Pasco, 313 Adair Drive.

Jeo’s Plumbing, 2720 Fourth St., Union Gap.

Williamson Fire Extinguishers LLC, 7155

Van Belle Road, Sunnyside.

CCM Expert in Cleaning LLC, 4815 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick.

Moles Painting Solutions LLC, 5221 W. Argent Road, Pasco.

Richard Gordon Golie, 206805 E. Bowles Road, Kennewick.

WEST RICHLAND

Genesis Homes LLC, 100 N. Morain St., Kennewick.

Luis Fernando Magana, 414 S. Gum St., Kennewick.

509 Builders LLC, 9595 Snake River Road, Pasco.

Custom Floor Covering LLC, 6314 Three Rivers Drive, Pasco.

Richland Baseball Academy, 3101 Mount Rainier Court.

Raelen Photography, 4745 W. Robin Court.

Carlos Valdez DDS, 444 Wenatchee St., Richland.

Oniel Consulting LLC, 5903 Willowbend St. The Cart Company, 98902 N. Harrington Road.

Shannon’s Grooming, 1545 Bombing Range Road.

Superior Granite LLC, 6503 W. Okanogan Ave., Kennewick.

Paulson’s Floor Coverings, 1339 Tapteal Drive, Richland.

DK&G Development LLC, 7121 W.

Argent Road, Pasco.

KPR Contracting LLC, 2213 W. Eighth Place, Kennewick.

Wicked Washing, 44702 E. Mountain Place, Benton City.

Michael Casey Hughes, 5285 Everett St.

Nova Venue Rentals, 100 N. Howard uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B23

How did you hear about Journal of Business?

• Each issue is chock-full of essential business news about the Tri-City region.

• Expert columns on a variety of topics.

• Industry specific editorial focuses.

• Monthly construction and real estate section.

Make checks payable to:

Area Journal of Business $27.12 (1 year)

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Prices include Kennewick sales tax. Mail to:

You can also subscribe online at tcjournal.biz.

St., Spokane.

Pro Impact Lawn Care LLC, 915 S. Arthur Place, Kennewick. City Turf Empire LLC, 908 W. Jan St.,

Pasco.

MC Mechanical LLC, 7203 W. Sixth Place, Kennewick.

Tri-Cities Masonry Landscaping & Concrete LLC, 124 W. Shoshone St., Pasco.

Tumbleweeds Mexican Flair, 894 Stevens Drive, Richland.

Red Mtn Flooring LLC, 3805 W. Van

Giesen St.

Off The Deep End LLC, 6728 Collins

Road.

Bricker Construction LLC, 5408 Fern

Loop.

Framed Photo Booth Company, 6581

Cyprus Loop.

Rebecca Torres, 3312 S. Gum St., Ken-

newick.

Dillon Miller Designs, 2011 Crab Apple

Circle.

The Columbians, 2011 Crab Apple

Circle.

Jonathan Hoekema Consulting, 3900

E. Lattin Road.

Sy Ventures LLC, 6337 Marble St.

Adam & Sons Construction LLC, 3503

Fargo St.

A&S Roofing, 200802 E. Game Farm Road, Kennewick.

Detail Studio Products, 4193 W. Van

Giesen St.

Kings Construction & Demolition LLC, 2917 W. 19th Ave., Kennewick.

Ramos Remodel LLC, 210 E. First Place, Kennewick.

Enterprise Middle School PTO, 5200

Paradise Way.

Jose J. Morfin, 6201 Rockrose Lane, Pasco.

Desert Sky PTO, 2100 Sunshine Ave.

Innovated Hardscaping & General Contracting LLC, 224230 E. Access PR SE, Kennewick.

Zerorez of Tri-Cities, 801 S. Steptoe St., Kennewick.

Premier Roofing and Exteriors LLC, 3019 Duportail St., Richland.

uJUDGMENTS

The state can file lawsuits against people or businesses that do not pay taxes and then get a judgment against property that person or business owns. Judgments are filed in Benton-Franklin Superior Court. The following is from the Franklin County Superior Court Clerk’s Office.

Olympic Cascade Drive Ins LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb.

1.

Darryl Gordon Taber, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 9.

Oscar’s Lawn Care Services LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 9.

Maria Glorivel Castillo de Andrade, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries, filed Feb. 9.

Miguel A. Olguin Rodriguez, unpaid

Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

Ridgeview Farms LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

Tri River Paving LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

JSC Concrete Construction, unpaid

Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

Reed Group Management, unpaid

Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

Grocery Delivery e-Service, unpaid

Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

Rivera Investments LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

Christina M. Franklin, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 10.

Christine Kay Cunningham, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 13. Rock-It Enterprises LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 13.

Pioneer Landscape & Fencing LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 13.

Sunrise Quality Construction, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 13.

Fondita Ilucion LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 15.

Elite Carpentry LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 15.

Concrete Unlimited LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 15.

Miguel Moreno, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 15.

J. Cuevas Painting LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 27.

Torres Virrueta Group Inc., unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 27.

Miguel Hernandez, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 27.

Barajas Auto Body LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 27.

FRANKLIN COUNTY NEW

Tequila’s Sports Bar, 414 W. Lewis St., Pasco. License type: spirits/beer/wine restaurant lounge-. Application type: new. Paper Street Brewing Co., 241 Fanning Road, Pasco. License type: microbrewery; beer/wine on premises endorsement. Application type: new.

Amor A Mexico Restaurant LLC, 528

W. Clark St., Pasco. License type: spirits/ beer/wine restaurant lounge+; catering. Application type: new.

MOD Pizza, 5326 N. Road 68, Suite 130, Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only; beer/wine restaurant – beer/wine; off premises. Application type: new.

APPROVED

Dog Haus, 7425 Sandifur Parkway, Suite 102, Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only. Application type: new.

Metro Mart Pasco, 1015 W. Lewis St., Pasco. License type: grocery store – beer/ wine. Application type: assumption.

Kim’s Market, 1909 W. Court St., Pasco. License type: grocery store – beer/wine. Application type: assumption. Golden Wok, 5024 N. Road 68, Suites C-D, Pasco. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer/wine. Application type: new.

DISCONTINUED

Golden Wok, 5024 N. Road 68, Suite C-D, Pasco. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer/wine. Application type: discontinued.

uBUSINESS UPDATES

NEW

The Busy Bee Diner, 1505 W. Kenne-

wick Ave., Kennewick, has opened. The diner offers mom-and-pop breakfasts and lunches. Contact: 509-396-3121.

Fleet Feet Tri-Cities, 620 George Washington Way, Richland, has opened. The store franchise specializes in personalized running gear. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Contact: 509-420-4702, fleetfeet.com. Tulipe, 614 George Washington Way, Richland, opens March 17. The lifestyle store sells women’s and men’s clothing and accessories, home décor, candles, lotions, books, cards, gifts and more.

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday. Contact: 509-420-4603, tulipelifestyle. com.

Whimsey Apothecary, 318 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, has opened. The shop sells loose teas, candles, vegan/ natural skin care, unique gifts and more.

Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Contact: 509-378-0711.

Nico’s on First Avenue, 525 W. First Ave., Kennewick, has opened. The shop sells house plants, florals and home decor. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. WednesdaySaturday. Contact: 661-370-8789.

MOVED

Wright Therapeutic Massage has moved to 660 George Washington Way, Suite T, in Richland. Contact: 509-5317826.

CLOSED

Gathered Home, 211 Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, has closed.

Seattle Children’s Kennewick Bargain Boutique at 2810 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, will close March 25.

Donald Rosane, unpaid Department of Licensing taxes, filed Feb. 3.

Tres Pueblos Meat Market LLC, unpaid

Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 3.

HDZ Construction Services, unpaid

Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 3.

Jose L. Aguilar, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 3.

Eastern WA Construction Inc., unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 3.

Tommy J. Kirk, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 3.

EJ Construction LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Feb. 3.

Atomic Town Finishes LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 6.

Taxes D. & Notary LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 6.

Mateo Adan Tome, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 6.

Claudia A. Chavez, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 6.

Terry Ryan Cissne, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 9.

Jacqueline Villalobos-Fernandez, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 9.

Always Green Lawn Care LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Feb. 9.

uLIQUOR LICENSES BENTON COUNTY

NEW

Pacific Clinic, 1350 N. Grant St., Kennewick. License type: snack bar. Application type: new.

Blackthorne Neighborhood Pub, 201 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick. License type: cocktails/wine to-go; spirits/beer/ wine restaurant lounge+; off-premises sale wine. Application type: new.

Quake Epicenter of Family Fun, 106904

E. Detrick PR SE, Kennewick. License type: beer/wine restaurant-beer/wine with taproom. Application type: new.

APPROVED

Salud Bar & Kitchen, 50 Comstock St., Richland. License type: direct shipment receiver-in/out WA. Application type: new.

Milbrandt Winery, 508 Cabernet Court, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: added/ change of trade name.

Safeway #3253, 5204 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver-in/out WA. Application type: added/change of trade name. Fresh Leaf Co., 1080 George Washington Way, Richland. License type: beer/ wine restaurant – beer/wine. Application type: new.