A unique food park is coming to a spot near Lawrence Scott Park in Kennewick’s Columbia Center area.

1derful Food Park – pronounced “wonderful” – is the brainchild of Joo Seok Baek of Richland. It will have seven kitchens and dining space at 6494 W. Skagit Ave., Kennewick.

The 30,000-square-foot complex will have seven 400-square-foot kitchens with outdoor seating as well as an indoor court to accommodate diners during the winter season and restrooms. The total indoor area will be about 4,200 square feet.

The site is off Canal Drive between McDonald’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse, near the Port of Kennewick’s Vista Field redevelopment site, which will bring a blend of business, retail and residential development – and prospective customers – to the area.

It joins a neighborhood that is becoming a destination for out-of-the-box food offerings. Summer’s Hub, a $3.5 million food truck pavilion being developed by Chris Corbin, is to open this spring on a site next to the Corbin family’s other business, Chuck E. Cheese.

Baek will open a Korean barbecue business in one of the kitchens, where he will serve Korean BBQ fried chicken and marinated meat-rice bowls as well as side dishes. The rest are being marketed to restaurants, wine bars, tasting rooms, coffee shops, soft serve ice cream and yogurt shops, and bakery and pastry shop owners who want to serve the public in an outdoor setting.

Customers will order and receive their food outside the kitchen and eat at outdoor tables nearby.

The property is listed with Jazmine Murillo of NAI Tri-Cities with asking rents of $2,500 per month.

“This place will be open to the public as a gathering place where people come and eat. Families and friends come and celebrate a loved one’s birthday, graduation or promotion. Parents bring their children and let them play with other kids,” he said.

Baek said 1derful Food Park was inspired by the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. While lockdown and other restrictions have been lifted, he notes many hesitate to dine in restaurants because of the continuing threat posed by emerging variants.

The park offers a way to satisfy those who still want to find a way to go out.

“An excellent way to satisfy people’s appetite is to provide food outside the building,” he said.

Seok, who bought the property for $288,400 in April 2020, said 1derful Food Park will open by November.

Cliff Thorn Construction is the contractor. Terence Thornhill Architect designed the project.