Restaurants and new developments around the Tri-Cities are always popular with our online readers, and our 10 most-read stories of 2023 show it.

These stories cover several developing properties, restaurant ownership changes and the elusive second Costco among other topics.

Here are the top news stories of 2023, according to tcjournal.biz readers:

1. Plan to build $1 billion Richland plant hits 2 key milestones (bit.ly/Atlas-Agro): This April story explored Atlas Agro’s proposal to build a $1 billion zero-carbon fertilizer plant. The company has a purchase and sale agreement with the Port of Benton for 150 acres in the North Horn Rapids Industrial Park.
2. Bitter legal battle forces Roasters ownership change (bit.ly/Roasters-ownership-change): Coffee customers may have noticed changing signs as the Roasters coffee shops became Black Rock Coffee Bar and then Wake Up Call Coffee. Our September story dug into the legal battle behind the turnover after our team combed through hundreds of pages of court documents.
3. Meet the new owners of the iconic Spudnut Shop (bit.ly/Spudnuts-owners): It was big news when The Spudnut Shop, an anchor of the Uptown Shopping Center, changed owners. Mike Bishop and Ryan Pierson said in April they didn’t plan on making too many changes at the 75-year-old Richland establishment.
4. New retail center taking shape in Richland (bit.ly/Duportail-retail-center): A 7,000-square-foot retail center is being built at 3151 Duportail St. in Richland, and Dog Haus Biergarten, which already has a restaurant in Pasco, is a potential tenant.
5. State confirms Costco is negotiating land lease in Richland (bit.ly/Costco-Queensgate): A second Costco in the Tri-Cities has been a tantalizing prospect for some time. In June, the state confirmed that Costco had submitted a letter of interest for about 28 acres of land in the Queensgate area and negotiations were underway.
6. Grandpa collected real estate. Now, 18 parcels at Richland Wye are for sale (bit.ly/Richland-Wye): In February, Jerry Sleater’s heirs were selling 18 parcels totaling 10 acres at Richland Wye, an up-and-coming area of Richland.
7. Osprey Pointe signs on to build Wyndham hotels in Pasco (bit.ly/Osprey-Pointe): James and Meredith Sexton of JMS Construction Inc. signed franchise agreements to build a Wyndham and a Wyndham Garden at The Osprey Pointe development in Pasco. Our October story laid out the plans for this riverside development.
8. Pasco baker serves up variety of sweet comfort food (bit.ly/Aubs-Bananza-Bread): This September story featured Aubrieann Johnson’s journey from disliking banana bread to becoming the owner of Aub’s Bananza Bread, selling baked goods with a breadth of creative flavors.
9. Shelby’s Floral to put down roots in building of its own (bit.ly/Shelbys-Floral): October saw the start of new building for Shelby’s Floral. Jackie Brown, the owner of Shelby’s Floral, is building a new shop at 6018 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick.
10. Washington asparagus hangs in the balance (bit.ly/WA-asparagus): This June story reported on the Washington asparagus industry, which has taken hard hits with the rising cost of labor. Though Washington is the national leader in asparagus, Mexican and Peruvian asparagus are the most consumed in the U.S.