It’s not the typical narrative for small business owners.When statewide shutdowns in the wake of Covid-19 closed the Richland Public Library’s doors, its café, Novel Coffee + Teas, shut down with it.Though many businesses took advantage of the lull to re-imagine their brands, spaces and business models, few were faced...
Steven Whitehead played football for years, getting a cup of coffee with the National Football League’s New Orleans Saints before embarking on a successful indoor football league career with the Tri-Cities Fever.The last season with the now-defunct Fever came in 2015, when he was named the Indoor Football League’s (IFL)...
A group of Tri-City builders is turning its focus away from commercial development to focus on multifamily projects.It’s a strategy that appears to be a smart business move for Urban Range LLC.Four partners make up the LLC which brings together under one umbrella a group of experienced builders with businesses...
Susanne and Jessie Ayala had a plan.It just didn’t include opening Ciao Trattoria in downtown Pasco, which they did in October.The Ayalas intended to leverage their restaurant experience and the success of their Ciao Wagon food truck into a sit-down restaurant in east Pasco, at the Osprey Pointe Marketplace, which...
A former fire station in the heart of Benton City will be the new home of Pepper Preppers LLC, a hot sauce business, as well as a commercial kitchen available for lease to a limited number of food startups.Cheri and Bill Smoot, founders of Pepper Preppers LLC, have a $211,000...
Prompted by complaints about the blasts from trains rumbling through Pasco, the city is looking at what it would take to create a “railroad quiet zone.”The city council reviewed the state and federal requirements for quiet zones during a July workshop but has taken no further steps since then.Steve Worley,...
Blueline Equipment Inc., a Yakima-based ag and construction equipment dealer and manufacturer, is doubling down on its Pasco retail store.Owner Gregg Marrs is building an 11,000-square-foot showroom and office near the Tri-Cities Airport amid growing demand for its tractors, excavators, diggers and other heavy equipment used on farms as well...
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee helped dedicate a $90 million research facility at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory campus in Richland on Oct. 29.The event was held online but served as a celebration for a new center for scientific discovery in chemistry, materials science and...
The Arts Center Task Force is restarting its efforts to build an 800-seat performing arts center in Richland under a new executive director.Phinney Brown, whose background includes working in the wine industry and for numerous nonprofits, took the helm at the nonprofit in July.She previously led marketing efforts for the...
Amazon Inc. confirmed Sept. 16 that it will open two distribution centers, each more than 1 million square feet, on South Road 40 East, north of Sacajawea State Park in Pasco.The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business first reported the news of the massive projects in its August edition. At the...
