Jessica Hoefer, Author at Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Investment property for sale at 1446 Spaulding Ave. in Richland.

Commercial real estate brokers expect continued growth

Rusty Morse has been a part of the Tri-City commercial real estate scene for a quarter of a century, and while he’s seen plenty of growth in the area, he said the last five to 10 years have been phenomenal. “It just continues to grow,” said Morse, managing broker at Coldwell Banker Commercial. “I look […]

Columbia Label owner, Steve Hall, stands next to a new $1 million digital press inside his Benton City company. A second machine, the 2018 Digicon finishing press, will arrive in January. The business provides labels for more than 75 wineries, including Tagaris and Badger Mountain Vineyards, as well as specialty food clients.

Columbia Label expands to better serve Northwest wine industry

1 week ago by Jessica Hoefer

Columbia Label recently installed its first of two $1 million dollar machines to help better meet the needs of Northwest wineries. The company provides labels for more than 75 wineries, including Tagaris and Badger Mountain Vineyards, as well as specialty food clients. Its new Indigo WS6800 Digital Press is the top digital wine label printer […]

Center Towers Shopping Center in Kennewick is at full capacity and the new owner of the retail center located behind the Olive Garden said his tenants work to support one another. Rents range from $18- to $19-a-square-foot.

Kennewick building owner shares entrepreneurial spirit with tenants

1 week ago by Jessica Hoefer

Jeremy Mansius spent his adolescence helping his dad run a HobbyTown franchise in Portland. When he went on to pursue a degree in finance, he thought he’d left the radio-controlled cars and science kits behind him. “I grew up thinking, ‘I’m never going to work at this store. I’m never going to work at HobbyTown.’ […]

Perfection Glass’ Robert Rojas, vice president, and Bob McCord, commercial manager, show off a Dynamic Glass panel. The company recently started using the specialty glass, which can be altered depending on the weather. The downtown Kennewick-based company recently acquired Walla Walla’s Yale Glass Company.

Perfection Glass plans expansion to Walla Walla market

1 month ago by Jessica Hoefer

Downtown Kennewick company also considering move to Richland in fall Kennewick’s Perfection Glass has acquired Yale Glass Company Inc. in Walla Walla and will begin serving more residents in the southeastern region of the state beginning in September. Dennis Yale, who has owned Yale Glass Company for 40 years, approached Kennewick-based Perfection Glass in December […]

Mike Palmus and his wife, Rosemary, flank customer Kyle Whitby as they pose for a photo after a fishing excursion. DownUnderSportFishing will open a location in Australia in 2018. (Courtesy DownUnderSportFishing)

Tri-City-based fishing charter business expands to Australia

1 month ago by Jessica Hoefer

DownUnderSportFishing to offer package deals in 2018 A Tri-City fishing business will expand its operations to open a branch more than 7,000 miles away next year. DownUnderSportFishing, which offers sightseeing trips and fishing excursions, will offer fishing charters in Australia. Mike Palmus and his wife, Rosemary, of Kennewick say Australia is the perfect destination for […]

Numerica’s Jimmy Rutkowsky helps member Galt Pettett with a banking transaction. Numerica plans to open two new branches in Kennewick this year.

Numerica to open two new Kennewick branches this year

1 month ago by Jessica Hoefer

Tri-City growth prompts new locations on Gage, Hildebrand Numerica Credit Union is opening two new branches in Kennewick this year. The company experienced tremendous growth in 2016, with loans growing by more than $224 million and deposit accounts by more than $175 million. The Spokane-based Numerica, which also serves northern Idaho and the Wenatchee Valley, […]

Fuel distributor R.E. Powell recently bought a $4.45 million three-story office building at 1060 Jadwin Ave. in Richland after outgrowing its facility in Pasco. Twenty employees work out of the offices on Jadwin. The company is the largest distributor of Chevron fuels in the Northwest and the largest distributor of Shell lubricant, supplying businesses all over Washington, northern and eastern Oregon, and the Idaho panhandle.

R.E. Powell expands in Tri-Cities, buys $4.45M building in Richland

2 months ago by Jessica Hoefer

R.E. Powell, a distributor of fuels and lubricants, has expanded its presence in the Tri-Cities by buying a three-story office building in Richland. In late April 2017, the company bought a 46,800-square-foot building for $4.45 million at 1060 Jadwin Ave. The Grandview-based company had been leasing the building since fall 2016 after outgrowing its facility […]

Dev Patel and Jackie Cross stand in front of crops at Prosser Farm. The farm supplies more than a dozen Seattle-area Tom Douglas Restaurants with about 10 percent of its produce annually. Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, melons and a plethora of herbs are grown on five acres.

Prosser Farm supplies fresh produce to Seattle-area foodies

2 months ago by Jessica Hoefer

Five-acre farm produced 65,000 pounds last year for Tom Douglas Restaurants Jackie Cross had no intention of owning a farm in Prosser as she and her husband Tom Douglas spend most of their days on the west side of the state. As the owners of more than a dozen Seattle-area restaurants, including Lola, Cuoco and […]

Brett Lott, co-owner of Brett Lott Homes, examines floor plans. As a certified aging-in-place specialist, he custom designs homes so clients can stay in them long term.

Specialty builders look to the future when designing homes

3 months ago by Jessica Hoefer

Aging-in-place specialists can help homeowners make adjustments As nearly 77 million baby boomers settle into retirement, many are concerned with more than just their bank accounts. Almost 70 percent of homeowners nationwide have made adjustments to their homes so they can live there longer, according to an AARP study called “Fixing to Stay.” It’s one […]

Dave Landis, Cindy Landis and Jay Denney pose in front of the 96-foot yacht used to operate Water2Wine Cruises, which sails out of Columbia Point Marina in Richland. The new business offers lunch and dinner cruises.

Water2Wine Cruises providing lunch, dinner aboard yacht

3 months ago by Jessica Hoefer

Cruises depart from Richland’s Columbia Point Marina When you have more than three decades of experience in the cruise industry, you’re bound to cross paths with the same people more than once. Jay Denney and Dave Landis did so on several occasions—in different ports and on different boats—over a period of 17 years. It was […]