Two business owners who met at an awards event honoring them for their entrepreneurship have teamed up to take the reins of a Richland restaurant and bar, bringing a focus on hospitality and French food – along with a new name.

Susanne and Jessie Ayala have had a busy past few years: from running a food truck to opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in downtown Pasco, then another one just a few doors down. 

The couple haven’t slowed down and neither has business, and now they’ve taken over The Bradley, along with partner Tyler MacDonald.

Situated near the Columbia River at 404 Bradley Blvd., Suite 106, Richland, The Bradley is known for its cocktail bar where food often was a footnote – but that wasn’t how it began, said Susanne Ayala, owner of Ciao Trattoria and Imbibe along with her husband, Jessie.

“When it first opened, it was really known for really delicious food and drinks, right?” Susanne Ayala said. 

That was in 2018, when she and Jessie Ayala were still running the Ciao Wagon. “We really wanted to honor the original intent of the place being a place where it was food-centric.”

Entrepreneurs unite

The Ayalas first heard about The Bradley being for sale from a neighboring business. The couple weren’t sure about it, since there was already a lot on their plate, but agreed to talk. Just a few conversations later, the deal was done. 

“It was a really good opportunity for us,” Jessie Ayala said.

The current owner, Jason Wright, was one of the original owners. He’s also the owner of Wright Surgical Arts and was motivated to sell The Bradley to focus on his medical practice. 

Around the same time as the opportunity to take over The Bradley came up, the Ayalas received a Richland Rotary Entrepreneurial Award for their transformation of downtown Pasco through their restaurants.

They had been looking for a new bookkeeper and approached Tyler MacDonald, who had also won an Entrepreneurial Award for his business, MacDonald Accounting, at the same event.

When Susanne Ayala mentioned the opportunity at The Bradley, MacDonald offered to be a business partner in the endeavor. “I’m excited to work with them and have everyone come in and try their great food,” he said. 

Since December, the Ayalas have been managing the restaurant and getting an idea of how the restaurant has been operating and what it needed. The business ownership officially transferred on March 1. After closing for a few weeks to finalize details, the restaurant will relaunch as The Bradley by Chef Jessie on March 18. 

The space will look a little different, with some tall tables turned into a lounge space, lower lighting, softer music, new curtains and small lamps and flowers for the tables. 

“This place … has really great bones. We really could see what the initial intent was for the business, and it just needed some refreshing and some softness to be added,” Susanne Ayala said. 

The Bradley will keep the same hours, with a slight shift: a bar menu will be available from 3-5 p.m., then the dinner menu will start at 5 p.m.

French food

Although customers at Imbibe can order food from Ciao Trattoria, The Bradley by Chef Jessie will have a fully different menu. 

“We don’t want to compete with ourselves,” Susanne Ayala said. “… We want to do something different and give variety to the Tri-Cities.” 

The focus will be on French food. While to some, that may bring fancy, high-end dishes to mind, Susanne Ayala said the menu will feature more country style, with simple ingredients and big flavor. 

Both traditional French dishes and variations Jessie Ayala has come up with will be on the menu, including a rack of lamb, filet mignon, mussels in red wine, a scallops dish, and 40 cloves of garlic chicken. 

Susanne Ayala said that the French cuisine will also highlight her husband’s talents, whose original culinary training is in French food. 

“We went down the road of Italian food when we opened our first restaurant 15 years ago down in Prosser, and then just kind of continued that on with our food truck and the new restaurant ventures,” she said.

She said she wanted to shine a spotlight on Jessie Ayala’s skillset, especially since he tends to be humble and she is often the face of their restaurants. 

Dining experience

While running three restaurants is a lot to balance, the Ayalas manage it all by relying on their staff to carry out their vision. 

Of 22 total employees across all three restaurants, about nine are at The Bradley. Most of the staff already at the Bradley were able to stay on, Susanne Ayala said, and they also had the opportunity to take on some former Bonefish Grill employees. That restaurant closed its doors in December.

While many different restaurants have recently shut down, the Ayalas’ continue to thrive and have seen growth in the last two years. 

Susanne Ayala attributed it to their philosophy of hospitality. “It’s about creating an experience and not just a transaction,” she said. 

With people picking and choosing what to spend money on, cultivating that experience from beginning to end is key, she said. 

The Ayalas train their staff to treat the customers as if they’re guests in a home, making sure they’re comfortable and have what they need with no expectation in return.

“Regardless of whether the customer is ordering a little bit or a lot, or whether they’re tipping or they’re not tipping, or regardless of how they’re behaving, our hospitality doesn’t change. It is unconditional,” she said. That’s what makes a good experience.