Healthcare agency demos Pasco restaurant   

The Pasco building once home to the city’s oldest continuously operating restaurant and later home to a branch of a Sunnyside-based Mexican restaurant has been demolished to make way for future healthcare services. 

The building at 1520 N. Fourth Ave., Pasco, was built in 1960, according to property records, and Chinese Gardens opened there in 1965. In November 2024, the building changed hands and transformed into a third location for Javi’s Chicken and Churros.  

The restaurant closed in November 2025 after eight months in the location, citing economic pressures as part of the reason for the closure.  

Tri-Cities Community Health bought the 8,000-square-foot building and property in March. The demolition was completed Oct. 20, according to Pasco’s permit portal.  

Tri-Cities Community Health said that the demolition makes room for an expansion of services in coming years, but there are no immediate plans for a building.   

The healthcare provider has two locations nearby, at 515 and 715 W. Court St. 

Permits issued for Catholic Charities renovations 

A demolition permit was recently issued for the former Esprit Printing building in downtown Kennewick as Catholic Charities Serving Central Washington prepares to make its move into its new local offices. 

The $65,000 worth of demolition work includes removal of interior walls, ceilings, floors, canopies windows and doors along with cutting holes for new windows in the building’s exterior walls, according to the permit. 

Chervenell Construction is the general contractor. MJ Neal Associates Architects of Wenatchee is the architect. 

The faith-based nonprofit last year bought the building for $1.4 million. It was originally built in 1930 and covers more than 13,500 square feet and is immediately next door to the Farmers Exchange building at 215 W. Canal Drive. It housed a commercial printer for decades. 

Catholic Charities officials previously told the Journal the building was purchased to be closer to the children, families and seniors it serves and provide space to expand its services. 

Federal agency to lease port space

The Port of Benton agreed Oct. 14 to enter a lease agreement with the General Services Administration for a building near the Richland Airport.  

The proposed lease was for 48 months at 2019 Butler Loop, Richland, in the Richland Airport Business Park. Port commissioners voted unanimously on the proposal at a public meeting Oct. 14.  

The building is 5,000 square feet, with 1,500 square feet of office space and 3,500 square feet of warehouse space, according to port documents. Monthly rent is just over $12,000.  

Before GSA moves into the space, the port has to install cipher locks and add a control room for the agency’s servers.

Peacock closes, owners ready for new venture

A Richland coffee shop closed two years after opening near Kennewick’s Resort at Hansen Park. But the owners have cooked up something new.  

The Peacock announced its closure via social media on Oct. 9. Originally Peacock Coffee Roasting Co. was located at Richland’s The Parkway before rebranding as The Peacock and moving to 910 S. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick, in 2024. There, the shop expanded from coffee to pizzas, cocktails and events.   

Though the Kennewick shop is no more, the owners aren’t done yet.   

They announced that a new restaurant, cocktail bar and cafe would be opening at 50 Comstock St. in Richland, a space formerly occupied by Salud Bar & Kitchen and attached to the Riverfront Hotel.   

Called Phoenix & Folly, the new restaurant “isn’t The Peacock 2.0,” owners Thomas Kalmbach and Justin and India Bazinet wrote in a social media post.   

“The Peacock isn’t relocating, reopening, or changing its name. That chapter has closed. Phoenix & Folly is an entirely new restaurant, with a new concept and a new space, but some familiar faces behind it,” the post read.    

The new endeavor has a fully-equipped kitchen, meaning the restaurant can put out food that wasn’t possible at The Peacock, and coffee will still be a part of the business.   

The restaurant plans to open in mid-November, according to its new website.   

Go to: phoenixandfolly.com. 

Mid-Columbia solar projects get new ownership

A Maryland-based solar energy company has acquired two solar facilities under development located outside Connell and Othello.  

Standard Solar has bought the Palouse Junction solar project outside of Connell as well as Othello’s Cunningham solar project from OneEnergy Renewables, according to a release. Both projects are expected to come online in the first quarter of 2027, with a combined capacity to generate 15.7 megawatts of energy.  

The projects are Standard’s first acquisitions in the state. Company officials said the facilities are part of a deliberate growth strategy and also highlight the importance of solar serving rural communities. They lauded Franklin Public Utility District and Big Bend Electric Cooperative, which will receive power from the projects, for seeing how solar can strengthen their energy supply.   

“Rural utilities are essential partners in expanding access to clean energy,” said Eric Partyka, director of business development for Standard Solar, in a statement. “These projects are an important example of how local utilities can bring the benefits of renewable energy directly to the communities they serve.”

Wildhorse selects firm for high-tech concert hall 

State-of-the-art auditorium space and seating is coming to Pendleton’s Wildhorse Resort & Casino in its bid to grow the variety and scale of performances and events it hosts.  

The casino, owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, announced a partnership with Gala Systems to design and install its proprietary technology bringing flexible auditorium spaces and seating configurations to the casino’s new convention center and concert hall, all part of a $100 million expansion.   

The expansion will create more than 40,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, including a 16,500-square-foot concert hall capable of hosting more than 1,700 guests for events such as national touring musical acts and headlining comedians. Montreal-based Gala’s technology will allow walls and elevations to be configured to accommodate meetings and events taking place simultaneously.   

Wildhorse expects to open its new facilities in April 2027. Upon completion, the casino will be the first tribal casino featuring Gala’s technology and one of the first U.S. venues overall.