Here’s a sneak peek inside Ice Harbor’s new 18-tap brewery in Tri-Cities

Ice Harbor Brewery — closed for more than 100 days while it moves to new digs in an old juice plant — is putting the final touches on its new home in downtown Kennewick.

Owners Bill Jaquish, Mike Hall and Cindy Hayes haven’t set a date, but hope to open the doors to family and friends within the week.

They will announce the opening on social media, but are aiming for a soft launch to give staff a chance to adjust to the new space and new equipment.

The new Ice Harbor Brewery is in the west end of the Public Market @ Columbia River Warehouse, aka the juice plant formerly known as Welch’s and later, J. Lieb Foods, at 10 E. Bruneau Ave.

It is a few blocks east of the former brewpub on Benton Street, which closed on Feb. 28, and less than a mile from its second location, Ice Harbor Brewery at the Marina on Clover Island.

The new site is 14,000 square feet, twice as large as the old spot. That means more room for seating, more room for cooking and more room for brewing.

Time to move

For Jaquish and Hall, the bigger footprint translates to a better experience for customers. They said the old spot was cramped and showing its age. It was time to move.

They considered building new in Southridge, but the $5 million price tag was prohibitive. The Public Market checked all their boxes: Location, price and zoning.

Their landlord, Cory Bitton, purchased the 1950s era juice plant from Refresco Beverages US Inc. in 2021, two years after it was listed for sale.

The 7.5-acre complex includes 210,000 square feet of industrial space spread across multiple buildings. Bitton opened Public Market on the east end one year ago. Jaquish and Hall lease space not long after.

They said the East Bruneau location fulfilled their wish to stay in downtown Kennewick. A brewery was an allowed use at the site, simplifying the approval process. The kitchen, bathrooms, break area and more could all be transitioned to the new use.

Even better, the floors in the old production slope for drainage, ideal for a brewery.

“We came to the realization it was the only option for us,” Jaquish said.

It cost more than $1 million to renovate the space, funded with a combination of personal money and a loan from Gesa Credit Union, backed by the Small Business Administration.

It’s a lot of money, they agreed, but less than the $5 million they were quoted to build new.

“We’d do it again,” Jaquish said.

Comfy, industrial vibe

The vibe is comfy industrial with enough televisions to broadcast major events but not enough to be a true sports bar.

Jaquish and Hall said Ice Harbor is a place to gather and socialize, not to watch TV. The ceilings are high and the finishing touches are industrial, including lighting and corrugated metal panels for wainscoting.

“It didn’t need to be a fancy place. It just needed to be a comfortable place to come and visit,” Hall said.

Ice Harbor’s beloved “wheel of fortune” made the move and is ready to spin. The wheel is a longstanding tradition conceived by Hall’s wife, Linda Hayes.. Whenever a train rumbles by, customers spin the wheel for a discount on beer.

“We sold a lot of beer with the wheel,” Jaquish said.

Better food, more beer

The most dramatic upgrades are behind the scenes. The kitchen and brewery both doubled.

The kitchen isn’t just bigger. It is decidedly better, with a proper vent hood and all new equipment, down to the brooms. The team was awaiting a final inspection by the Benton Franklin Health District on Monday, one of the last tasks to complete before the brewery opens to the public.

Angel Lopez, kitchen manager, said Ice Harbor will open with its old pub favorites, such as burgers, sandwiches (Reuben, BLT, pulled pork), fried fish, chicken strips and spuds.

The kitchen has room and equipment to upgrade meal preparation. The menu will expand to include pizza and possibly a smoker as the business matures in its new location, Lopez said.

Ice Harbor fans can expect to sample new brews from the larger brewery. Jaquish and Hall said the extra space for both brewing and storage means the brewers can be more creative, expanding beyond the tap staples that served the business well in the past.

The brewery began making beer at the Public Market in May and have added a Maiden (Made in) Washington with hops and grains grown here in the state.

The 18 taps will serve Ice Harbor’s house brewed root bear, various seltzers and ciders, and its line of beers, including Columbia Kolsch, Ruanway Red Ale, Sternwheeler Stout, Dust Cloud IPA and Hop Warrior.

Hanford, Pasco and Ice Harbor

Jaquish and Hall began Ice Harbor as a packing business in Pasco in 1997.

Both were employed at the Hanford site and met at a local club for home brewers. They brewed beer together, won awards and began talking about going into business together.

Mindful of Hanford funding cycles, they saw brewing as a way to diversify their private finances.

In 1996, they took a class on business feasibility. They presented their vision for Ice Harbor Brewing to a “murder board,” a critical review meant to identify fatal flaws.

The murder board was encouraging, so they pressed ahead. They secured a bank loan and bought the small Pasco brewery. Hall would leave his Hanford post to run the business full time. Jaquish followed suit about two years ago and led the move to the Public Market.

The original business remained in Pasco for seven years, until their building was sold. Downtown Kennewick’s gritty railroad zone was their next stop.

They leased space at North Benton Street and West Railroad Avenue on April 1, 2004, and moved in two months later, thanks to a “small army” of volunteers who helped build the space.

The new location came with a new offering: Pub food, dished from a limited and very small kitchen.

“We thought we’d sell a little food,” Hall recalled. “We sold a lot of food.”

Food would become a major source of revenue, accounting for about 35% of revenue prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, it is 55%.

Ice Harbor at the Marina

The Ice Harbor at the Marina location opened on nearby Clover Island in 2007.

The Port of Kennewick had invited Ice Harbor to join the neighborhood. the business partners signed on, thinking they’d draw people from the local yacht club. When that didn’t pan out, they had to build a new clientele.

“It was a hard first year,” Jaquish recalled.

It lost money for more than a year, consuming the earnings from its sister. At one point, the owners joke, they would have given it away to anyone who asked.

“It was killing us” Jaquish said.

The marina location did find its audience. And during the recent down time between closing one location and opening another, Ice Harbor fans have flocked to the island location, helping the business survive.

Follow Ice Harbor’s progress at faceboo.com/IceHarbor.

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