Ramen, BBQ, Korean, Hawaiian and more restaurants opening in Tri-Cities in 2024

Wendy Culverwell
·5 min read

Tri-Citians looking to try out new spots to eat will have plenty to choose from in 2024.

Here is a roundup of eateries that are expected to open in the new year.

As always, send tips to news@tricityherald.com.

Kennewick

Ron Swanby will move Swampy’s BBQ Sauce and Catering into a new home at 215 E. Columbia Drive, at Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village, in early 2024.
Ron Swanby will move Swampy’s BBQ Sauce and Catering into a new home at 215 E. Columbia Drive, at Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village, in early 2024.

Swampy’s BBQ Sauce and Catering

215 E. Columbia Drive

Look for Swampy’s to move from its truck at Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village into a custom-built kitchen on the same property.

Owner Ron Swanby, together with his partner, Pipeworks LLC, is constructing the building as a permanent home for Swampy’s. The kitchen will be available to support other food trucks at the Port of Kennewick’s wine-themed park near the cable bridge. Swanby expects to complete the move by late winter.

Follow Swampy’s on Facebook at facebook.com/swampysbbqsauce

Rachel Lundegard will open Tropic Hunger, a Hawaiian plates restaurant, near her Local Bite truck at Kennewick’s Edison Street Food Park in Kennewick in 2024.
Rachel Lundegard will open Tropic Hunger, a Hawaiian plates restaurant, near her Local Bite truck at Kennewick’s Edison Street Food Park in Kennewick in 2024.

Tropic Hunger Restaurant

5210 W. Okanogan Place

Tropic Hunger, which serves Hawaiian plates, will open in a building now under construction next to Edison Food Park, north of Kamiakin High School.

Tropic Hunger and its sibling, the Local Bite, are owned by Rachel Lundegard and her husband, Scott. Lundegard serves both menus from the blue Local Bite food truck in the nearby parking lot, but will move the plate lunch business to the new space when its ready.

Tim Bush’s TTB Investments is the developer.

Miriam Contreras Murillo is working to open Andy’s Coffee Break in the former Shari’s restaurant at 1200 Columbia Center Boulevard in Kennewick.
Miriam Contreras Murillo is working to open Andy’s Coffee Break in the former Shari’s restaurant at 1200 Columbia Center Boulevard in Kennewick.

Andy’s Coffee Break

1200 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

Miriam Contreras Murillo is renovating the former Shari’s restaurant at Columbia Square shopping enter into a family-oriented spot to eat.

The Andy’s team includes several people who were involved with the original Andy’s Coffee Break on Court Street in Pasco, which is now closed.

Argonaut Investmets, which owns Columbia Square, expects Andy’s to open in the spring.

Tomi Sushi & Ramen will open in the former Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant location in Kennewick.
Tomi Sushi & Ramen will open in the former Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant location in Kennewick.

Tomi Sushi & Ramen

122 S. Ely St.

Tomi Sushi & Ramen is preparing to open in the former Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Kennewick.

The future restaurant overlooks Highway 395 in the shopping center that was formerly home to a Safeway grocery.

Tomi is operated by Chao Liu, Zhyi Li and Junbo Li, who have applied for a license to serve beer and wine.

Mis Raices Cafe, a Mexican restaurant, will open in the former Eat Hot Tamales spot on Kennewick Avenue.
Mis Raices Cafe, a Mexican restaurant, will open in the former Eat Hot Tamales spot on Kennewick Avenue.

Mis Raices Cafe

2521 W. Kennewick Ave.

Mis Raices Cafe by Legacy is opening in the former Eat Hot Tamale space in Kennewick.

The tamale shop moved to Richland in 2023. The Mexican cafe is being established by the owners of Legacy Barber Shop, located next door. J. Felix Alvarez and Susana Montenegro secured a business license for Mis Raices Cafe By Legacy in September. A license to sell beer is pending.

Muchas Gracias Mexican Food, a growing chain based in Vancouver, Wash., will open its first Eastern Washington location at the former Taco John’s restaurant building near Kennewick High School.
Muchas Gracias Mexican Food, a growing chain based in Vancouver, Wash., will open its first Eastern Washington location at the former Taco John’s restaurant building near Kennewick High School.

Muchas Gracias Mexican Food

701 Vineyard Drive

Muchas Gracias Mexican Food, a growing Mexican restaurant chain based in Vancouver, Wash., opens its first Eastern Washington Location in the former Taco John’s spot near Kennewick High School.

Ivan Sanches will operate the restrautant. His father, Rodolfo, founded Muchas Gracias in Oregon. The chain operates 76 restaurants in western Oregon and Washington.

Pasco

Bruchi’s Cheesesteaks & Subs will open at the site of the now-demolished U.S. Bank branch on Court Street in Pasco.
Bruchi’s Cheesesteaks & Subs will open at the site of the now-demolished U.S. Bank branch on Court Street in Pasco.

Bruchi’s Cheesesteaks and Subs

1840 W. Court St.

Bruchi’s and a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop are slated to move into new space built on the site for the former US Bank at West Court Street and North 20th Avenue. It is expected to be the sixth Tri-Cities Bruchi’s.

The former bank was demolished in early 2023 to make way for the redevelopment.

Richland

Cindy and Brian Goulet expect to open Perch Cantina at Columbia Point in Richland in early 2024.
Cindy and Brian Goulet expect to open Perch Cantina at Columbia Point in Richland in early 2024.

Perch Cantina

592 Columbia Point Drive

Cindy and Brian Goulet, owners of LU LU Craft Bar + Kitchen and 3 Eyed Fish Kitchen + Bar, plan to open Perch Cantina at Columbia Point in May.

The menu focuses on Mexican and Latin flavors merged with American farm-to-table roots. The Goulets broke ground on the 5,500-square-foot restaurant in 2023. The site is next to LU LU.

Follow its progress on Facebook at bit.ly/PerchCantina

The new Ethos Bakery & Cafe building at 2290 Keene Road in Richland is nearing completion. Original plans call for it to house all of their bakery, milling and coffee operations, as well as have expanded indoor and outdoor seating, a drive-through and a new, even larger stone mill for making flour. It’s located adjacent to the Taco Time and Kozy Kup Coffee buildings.

Ethos Bakery & Cafe

2290 Keene Road

Ethos Bakery & Cafe will move into its new home at Keene Road and Queensgate Drive after closing its former quarters some 600 feet to the east. The popular bakery consolidated at The Parkway during construction.

Its new home is near Kozy Cup Coffee and Taco Time. Owners Angela Kora and Scot Newell will base the bakery’s operations, including milling, and coffee in the new location. Washington Securities & Investment Corp. is developing the building for Ethos.

Chicken and Bowl will open in the former Teahaus location at 530 Swift Blvd. in Richland.
Chicken and Bowl will open in the former Teahaus location at 530 Swift Blvd. in Richland.

Chicken & Bowl

530 Swift Blvd.

Owners Yoori Nah and Brumki Hong are working to open Chicken & Bowl int he former Teahaus location in central Richland.

The business applied for a beer and wine license in November.

The future restaurant shares a parking lot with Flight Tap & Table, near Richland City Hall.

Gangnam BBQ

1275 Lee Blvd.

Gangnam BBQ, which has a Korean barbecue restaurant in Kennewick, is expected to open a second edition in the former Key Bank building in central Richland after lengthy renovations to the building.

Dong Min LLC, led by Dong Min Won, purchased the property in 2022 and secured permits to begin renovations later that year, according to property records. The restaurant applied for a license to sell alcohol in November. Records indicate it is pending.

The original Gangnam is at 7903 W. Grandridge Blvd. in Kennewick.

West Richland

Tumbleweeds Mexican Flair will open a second location, in the former Chicken Shack location at 4390 Van Giesen St. in West Richland.
Tumbleweeds Mexican Flair will open a second location, in the former Chicken Shack location at 4390 Van Giesen St. in West Richland.

Tumbleweeds Mexican Flair

4390 W. Van Giesen St.

Keith Moon is expanding Tumbleweeds to a second location.

He expects to open in the former Chicken Shack spot by April 13 with 8-10 employees. The venue will serve been and wine and host concerts and other special events.

The original Tumbleweeds is at 894 Stevens Drive in central Richland. The business is redesigning its menu for both locations.

Follow its progress on Facebook at facebook.com/tumbleweedsmexicanflair

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