In one of the more unusual real estate moves in recent memory, a Chinese restaurant in Kennewick is being refashioned into an independent, closed-door pharmacy catering to adult family homes, nursing homes and similar facilities.

Pharmacists Randy and Dawn Johnson, owners of Tri-Cities RX, bought Bamboo Gardens at 8021 W. Grandridge Blvd. in August as the new home for the long-term care side of their business.

The duo also owns the independent Tri-Cities RX retail pharmacy on the Kadlec Medical Center campus, which is not affected by the expansion.

Bamboo Gardens shut down Aug. 27, the day the $870,000 deal closed.

“I had to tell him to turn off the grill and stop cooking,” Randy Johnson joked.

Converting the restaurant into a long-term care pharmacy should wrap up in mid-December.

The Johnsons expect to relocate to Kennewick in January, once they have secured approval from state and federal regulators.

The retail pharmacy caters to the public while the long-term care pharmacy serves institutional clients.

It assembles prescriptions for residents of about 70 local care facilities, serving an area from the Tri-Cities to Moses Lake, Walla Walla to Yakima. The business is licensed in Oregon with an eye to expanding into Hermiston and Umatilla.

Its pharmacists fill prescriptions for all the residents of its clients. Some fill prescriptions by the month, others on a weekly basis. It delivers 99% of the prescriptions it fills and provides medication management services.

The new location will not cater to the public.

A former Chinese restaurant is an unlikely spot to move a pharmacy business, but Randy Johnson said it made perfect sense for the long-term service.

Unlike retail pharmacies, a long-term pharmacy operates like a warehouse, with a need for the types of open spaces found in restaurant dining rooms. It has to house specialized equipment to package prescriptions according to its clients’ needs.

Bamboo Gardens, which had been for sale for several years, caught his eye about a year ago. Johnson's business was outgrowing its Richland space, and the lease expires in February 2021.

The Johnsons made an offer for the 5,500-square-foot Bamboo Gardens building in February but backed off when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The building’s owner pulled the property off the market.

But they reconnected in April and reached a deal. Johnson never doubted the wisdom of investing in the business, even in a pandemic.

Johnson was born and raised in the Tri-Cities. He graduated from Kennewick High School before leaving for college, first at the University of Idaho and then Washington State University.

“I have a lot of faith in our community,” he said.

The new pharmacy will occupy part of the building. Johnson said he could use the balance for a retail or even compounding pharmacy in the future. He wants to absorb the cost of purchasing and renovating the property before making another big move.

Johnson took a circuitous route to the pharmacy industry. He went to Idaho to play football, then transferred to WSU after his playing days ended. He took business courses and later, engineering ones to please his father.

A course on career options prompted his love of pharmacy work. Johnson met his wife in school.

The couple moved to the Tri-Cities when he was offered the chance to manage an independent pharmacy on 14th Street in Pasco. He spent five years managing it for a remote owner who ended up selling to Walgreens. He worked as a pharmacist and manager for Walgreens for several years. He called it an educational experience, but part of the education was personal.

“I didn’t want to work for a big pharmacy chain for the rest of my career,” he said.

He launched the retail business on the Kadlec campus while Dawn worked in corporate pharmacies with a focus on long-term care. The couple spied a need for long-term care pharmacy services in the Tri-Cities.

Local facilities relied on providers in Spokane, Seattle and Portland – too far to be nimble. They opened near Kadlec, to be close to the retail pharmacy.

Tri-City RX employs 30, including 6.5 FTE pharmacists as well as pharmacy technicians, assistants and couriers.