Several small businesses were left scrambling to find a new home when Kennewick’s Public Market at Columbia River Warehouse closed its doors at the end of March with little communication or explanation from its owners.

“I thought this was like an entryway to get up off the ground and these were people out trying to help startup businesses, and it wasn’t so,” said Donovan Joseph, chef at Jamdung Eats Jamaican Cuisine and Catering, one of the market’s tenants. 

Launched in 2022, the market was a private endeavor that aimed to bring in more than 70 vendors to a former Welch’s juice factory at 10 E. Bruneau Ave.

It functioned as an incubator space, and many businesses got their start there before moving to their own storefronts, like Granny Annie’s Kitchen Creations and 4 Whistles Winery’s tasting room.

But despite high hopes and the large neon “Public Market” sign, the market has been quiet over the years, with many tenant spaces left vacant.

In September 2025, program manager Kelsey Bitton and director of operations Paul Robinson were working on plans to revitalize the market space, from launching a commercial kitchen to hosting a haunted house to attracting more food vendors to the market. 

Now, the ownership group seems to be leaning into using the market as an event space. The commercial kitchen endeavor, called Premier Kitchen, appears to be open, according to its Facebook page, and as recently as mid-March, the public market’s social media advertised its event space.

As of April, the market’s social media has also promoted a new escape room in the space.

The owners and manager of the market have not responded to multiple requests for comment, and the market’s social media page does not mention the closure.

Shutting down

Vendors at the public market said that no reason was provided for the closure, only a little more than a month’s notice that doors would be closing at the end of March. 

A termination notice dated Feb. 22 was given to tenants, stating that the owners would be “permanently discontinuing” operations.

The impersonal letter – signed only by “Authorized Representative” – directed tenants to fully vacate their spaces by 5 p.m. March 31, remove all property, leave the space clean, and pay any outstanding balances. 

“This closure decision is a business decision regarding the discontinuation of Public Market operations and is not related to tenant performance,” according to the letter, acquired by the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Joseph said that while tenants were told that there would be a meeting to discuss the closure, it was postponed and never occurred, and the owners never answered the phone when he tried to call them.

“You don’t just give people a short notice like that and expect them to just get out,” Joseph said.

His business had been in the market for just over a year, and he noticed that lease terms became shorter closer to the venue’s closure.

While he was worried about getting enough manpower to move out his equipment – including commercial refrigerators, ice makers, warmers and a juice dispenser – by the March 31 deadline, he was able to do it. 

Now, he’s eager to set up shop elsewhere to keep Jamdung Eats going. 

The Public Market at Columbia River Warehouse was relatively quiet in late August 2025, with more than a dozen vendor stalls empty. 

| Photo by Rachel VisickResilience and relocation

With the public market closed, businesses have been forced to make their way elsewhere. 

For Antojos 509, a Venezuelan restaurant that had been at the market for more than three years, the timing wasn’t so bad. 

They already had been working to open what would have been a second location in the Southridge area of Kennewick.

While the restaurant was originally planning on keeping the public market location, “we move on,” said owner Eryck Veliz. 

They hope to open their new space at 5453 Ridgeline Drive, Suite 140, in mid-April.

Frutas y más by Carmen & Jaime posted on its Facebook page that the flavored fruit cups and beverage business has reopened at the flea market at 3620 E. Lewis Place, Pasco, which is open on weekends.

Joseph said that he is looking for new spot to open Jamdung Eats. While a Pasco location he was considering didn’t pan out, he’s still thinking about Richland or possibly a food truck. 

Other businesses, including The 99, a cafe selling drinks and cakes, remain temporarily closed with no plans announced yet for a new location. The 99 had only opened at the public market in late January, just two months before the market closed for good.  

“We wish the best for those businesses who are looking for a new location,” said Stephanie Button, executive director of the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership.

She noted that the organization, which focuses on economic growth and vibrancy in downtown Kennewick, is happy to help connect interested tenants with available spaces downtown.

Ice Harbor Brewery, a tenant which anchors a separate part of the public market, appears to be continuing operations in full swing. The business was recently named Business of the Year by the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce.

As for the market itself, Button said that many businesses have had to reposition themselves.

If the public market owners are in fact pivoting toward an event space and commercial kitchen, that’s still beneficial to the downtown area, she said. 

“I think that the Tri-Cities at large definitely could use some more commissary kitchen opportunities,” she said. Food truck owners and others in the food business are often looking for that cooking space.

“We will be keeping our eyes open for whatever comes next,” Button said.