Kennewick’s newest apartment complex in the Southridge area is serving up a unique amenity – its own food truck plaza.

Designed to foster a sense of community, the food pavilion was built as part of the $60 million Argyle at Southridge apartment complex at 5651 W. 36th Place, across the street from Southridge High School.

The Argyle Sun Spot Food Pavilion includes a brick-and-mortar gathering place with inside seating and TVs.

The four-truck plaza is at capacity and the food truck owners who have set up shop say they’re excited to be a part of this new concept. And once school opens, they are betting they’ll keep busy feeding hungry high schoolers.

The Dog Haus, Heavenly Sweets N Drinks, Let’s Get Baked Potatoes and Taco Chavez Brothers will permanently sit at the complex for at least six months with some already committed to a year.

New concept 

The apartment’s food truck pavilion is the first of its kind in the region, said Jenna Mullett, property manager at Argyle.

“This is something completely unique to the Tri-Cities, having these trucks housed every day is something new here,” she said. “If you live here, and you don’t want to cook, you can just come down to the trucks.”

At full build-out, Argyle at Southridge will feature 162 units as well as work/live townhomes across 10 buildings. Two of the buildings are already open, with more opening in September, October and November.

Other Argyle amenities include a clubhouse, swimming pool with lockers, a dog wash area and 32 electric vehicle hookups.

Mullett said the ownership group Cordillera Inc., based in Bend, Oregon, is planning a similar food truck pavilion in Idaho.

“Our owners are big on bringing a place of community here. It helps limit the time you leave your unit,” said Mullett, who said there has been a lot of interest in the adjacent townhomes as tenants could run their small business on the first floor and live upstairs on the second floor.

Ready-made clientele

The Dog Haus’ Michael Kohlhoff is managing the Argyle Sun Spot, which held its grand opening on June 27.

Two years ago he and his business partners opened a Dog Haus franchise in Pasco.

His intention at the time was to open a second restaurant in Richland’s busy Queensgate area. But instead, he decided to put his energy into a Dog Haus food truck, a more cost-effective investment.

“A second brick-and-mortar would cost me $1.6 million, and we wouldn’t even own the building,” he said. “A food truck costs 1/10th (of that).”

Kohlhoff moved fast when Mullett and her team approached him about running the facility. He wanted in.

Kohlhoff also got lucky.

Michael Kohlhoff stands at the Argyle Sun Spot Food Pavilion at Argyle at Southridge apartment complex at 5651 W. 36th Place in Kennewick. Kohlhoff, who owns the Pasco DogHaus franchise, is the general manager of the pavilion.

| Photo by Jeff Morrow

“I was able to quickly find a (Labor and Industries)-approved truck,” Kohlhoff said. “It was inspected on June 26th, and we opened on the 27th.”

He said that he expected 30 to 40 people to show up at the grand opening. Instead, about 200 came, which is why he and the three other food truck owners quickly joined the pavilion.

With Trios Southridge Hospital, Affinity at Southridge senior community and lots of neighborhoods nearby, the vendors expect a lot of foot traffic. And when school gets back into session in late August, there will be a ready-made clientele of students looking for a quick lunch.

Kohlhoff said that trucks will be open every day, though hours will vary.

“The hospital cafeteria is closed on weekends, and the employees would have a two-minute walk,” Kohlhoff said. “The neighbors in this Southridge community have also been coming by.”

So have customers from the nearby senior community, said Chrystal Calderon, who owns Heavenly Sweets N Drinks.

“The idea of the high school and the hospital was great,” said Calderon, whose truck became popular over the last few years at the Live @ 5 events at Richland’s John Dam Plaza. “But then there is the senior living community. They came here the other day, walking over here. This is already a nice community. It’s almost like we are all a family.”

Calderon committed to six months at the pavilion, while the three other truck owners have signed yearlong leases.

Maria Elva, who works at Taco Chavez Brothers, said her truck jumped at the chance to come to Southridge after spending some time parked on Van Giesen Street in West Richland.

“I think it’s going to be great here,” she said.

So does Tessa Strange, owner of Let’s Get Baked Potatoes.

“The high school is a lot of it for me,” said Strange, whose truck had been settled in at the Clearwater Avenue pod in Kennewick for a few years. “They caught me at the right time, as things were a little slow. This is a new concept to me.”

Like the other vendors, Strange plans on having a high school menu that the kids can get quickly and is nutritious.

She knows it’s all a risk since the location is a little off the beaten path, but she believes it’s worth it.

“I’ve been psyching myself up, preparing for a slow start. But I know it’s going to pay off,” she said.

Mullett thinks so too.

“I want to see this bring something different to the community,” she said. “But this is for everybody. Not just the residents. It is supporting local at the end of the day.”