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Tri-Cities

Phoenix & Folly to open Oct. 31 in former Salud space on Richland riverfront

Phoenix & Folly, a new all-day restaurant and bar with ties to Kennewick's recently closed The Peacock, plans to open at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, in the former Salud Bar & Kitchen space at the Richland Riverfront Hotel, 50 Comstock St.

The restaurant is from Thomas Kalmbach, master roaster at The Peacock, and Justin and India Bazinet, the Tri-City Herald reported. The Peacock announced its closure on social media Oct. 9, and the new restaurant was announced Oct. 10, according to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

The owners have said the new place is not a relocation. "The Peacock isn't relocating, reopening, or changing its name. That chapter has closed. Phoenix & Folly is an entirely new restaurant, with a new concept and a new space, but some familiar faces behind it," they wrote in a social media post quoted by the Journal.

The Peacock began as Peacock Coffee Roasting Co. at Richland's The Parkway before moving to 910 S. Columbia Center Blvd. in Kennewick in 2024, where it added pizza, cocktails and events, the Journal reported. The Richland space has a fully equipped kitchen, allowing food that wasn't possible at The Peacock, and coffee will remain part of the business.

Phoenix & Folly bills itself as an "all-day neighborhood restaurant and bar" with elevated comfort food and cocktails. The Herald reported the kitchen is teasing a menu of artisan pizzas, smash burgers and more. The restaurant's website is revealing a new piece of the concept each Saturday at 7 p.m. ahead of opening, with "Test Kitchen Tuesdays" next up on Oct. 17. The site also takes sign-ups for reservation and soft-opening news and says the restaurant is hiring.

Salud Bar & Kitchen closed earlier this year. The Journal's May 2026 liquor license report listed Salud's license at 50 Comstock St. as discontinued. The hotel's dining page, which still lists Salud, describes the space as having an outdoor deck overlooking the Columbia River.

Hours have not been announced.

Sources

TriTown.info - 10/13/2026

Avalanche Energy picks Tri-Cities for first fusion-machine factory

Avalanche Energy has selected the Tri-Cities for its first global manufacturing facility for compact fusion energy machines, a project the Seattle-based company and the Tri-City Development Council say could eventually create hundreds of long-term jobs. The plans were announced Oct. 8 at a press conference in Kennewick, where Avalanche and TRIDEC signed a strategic engagement letter to work together on the project.

Avalanche chose the region after a nationwide site evaluation that considered multiple industrial and technology hubs across the United States, according to the company's announcement. Under the letter, Avalanche and TRIDEC will work together on site selection, permitting, infrastructure readiness, regional supply chain development and specialized workforce development.

No site has been chosen. TRIDEC will coordinate with its jurisdictional partners and intends to issue a request for information to its economic development partners to evaluate potential sites based on the project's infrastructure, workforce, transportation, utility and development requirements. The plant would operate near FusionWERX, Avalanche's research and development facility in Port of Benton-owned space at 2345 Stevens Drive in Richland. Avalanche could start with a plant that requires about 20 acres, but expansion could eventually require hundreds of acres, the Tri-City Herald reported.

The facility would begin as a prototype production plant and is expected to expand into a fully vertically integrated commercial manufacturing operation capable of producing hundreds of fusion machines a year. TRIDEC and Avalanche officials told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business that means handling raw materials, making the necessary alloys, machining parts and assembling the machines on site. Avalanche is developing modular fusion machines with target capacities of 100 kilowatts and 5 megawatts, and the Herald reported possible uses include data centers, disaster relief and defense.

"We envision a world-class manufacturing center that can produce hundreds of fusion machines each year, create hundreds of long-term jobs and generate significant economic activity while positioning the Tri-Cities and Washington state at the forefront of the global fusion industry," Avalanche co-founder and CEO Robin Langtry said in the announcement.

Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., spoke at the event. Ferguson called the planned manufacturing center a "big deal," saying it would be significant for the state's clean energy future, its climate goals, its manufacturing economy and jobs, the Herald reported. Newhouse said the project would bring construction jobs first, then hundreds of skilled and unskilled jobs.

Alex Campbell, Avalanche's head of commercial markets, told the Journal the company picked the Tri-Cities for its experienced nuclear workforce, institutions such as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University Tri-Cities, and its rail and waterway transportation networks. "The ability to have rail and port access to ship these machines to not only domestic markets but international markets is a unique attribute that not many places have," Campbell said.

The technology still has a way to go. There is no commercial fusion energy production industry yet, the Herald noted, as fusion companies work to produce more energy from a fusion reaction than it takes to create the reaction. Avalanche says it remains on track to demonstrate net fusion energy gain before 2030.

Sources

TriTown.info - 10/13/2026

Gas holds above $5 in Connell and Tri-Cities as state prices ease slightly

Gas is still over $5 a gallon across most of the Columbia Basin. Pasco and Connell have some of the region's better deals, but the cheapest fill-ups are across the border in Idaho.

GasBuddy's lowest regular prices at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5: $5.13 at Circle K in Connell, $4.99 at Atomic Gas and MetroPetroleum in Pasco, $5.19 at Hawk Fuel in Othello, $4.83 at Chevron in Moses Lake, $5.19 at Maverik in Cheney and $5.39 in Colfax. Post Falls, Idaho, was $4.35 at Walmart.

Averages tell a broader story. AAA put the Richland-Kennewick-Pasco metro at $5.31 a gallon on Oct. 12, flat for the week but $1.04 higher than a year ago. Diesel there averaged $7.34.

Adams County averaged $5.37 and Grant County $5.40 on Oct. 12, according to AAA. The statewide average was $5.45, down 3 cents in a week and 11 cents in a month. The national average was $4.36.

Washington ranks third-highest in the nation behind California and Hawaii. Regular gas hit a state record of $5.79 on May 20, and diesel set a record of $7.47 on Sept. 23. A year ago, Washington drivers paid about $4.48.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said the trend is "cautiously in the right direction," but warned that hurricane season and geopolitical uncertainty mean it's too early to call the pressure over.

Sources

ConnellWA.com - 10/12/2026

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Richland downtown area nominated for federal Opportunity Zone

A downtown Richland neighborhood is among 99 areas Gov. Bob Ferguson nominated for the federal Opportunity Zones 2.0 program, with a proposal summary projecting about $300 million in capital investment and roughly 480 new housing units if the designation is certified and projects move forward.

Ferguson announced the statewide nominations Oct. 8 and submitted them to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reported that the proposed Downtown Richland project is the only selection in Benton or Franklin counties. Others were selected in the Yakima and Walla Walla valleys.

According to the Journal, the proposal covers the area bordered by Van Giesen Street on the south, Newcomer Street on the north, Stevens Drive on the west and George Washington Way on the east. The plan aims to create a walkable district centered on housing, economic opportunity, healthcare access and community services.

The Journal, citing the proposal summary, said the projects are estimated to generate about 700 construction jobs and 380 permanent jobs while leveraging an estimated $300 million in total capital investment. Redevelopment would add about 480 new housing units, including affordable housing opportunities, and increase access to healthcare, childcare and community services for an estimated 2,000 residents annually. Those figures are projections tied to the nomination proposal, not secured funding or approved development permits.

Independent trackers of Washington's Opportunity Zone 2.0 nominations list Benton County census tract 102.04 (GEOID 53005010204), entirely within Richland, as the county's sole nominated tract. Nominations are not yet designations. Treasury still must review and certify the state's list. If certified, the new zones are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and keep that status through Dec. 31, 2036.

Opportunity Zones offer federal capital-gains tax incentives to investors who put money into Qualified Opportunity Funds that invest in designated tracts. The updated program, made permanent in 2025 legislation, replaces the first round of zones designated in 2018. Washington nominated 99 tracts from 152 applications after a Commerce-led application process; 36 of the nominated areas represent rural opportunities. Original OZ 1.0 geographic designations remain active through Dec. 31, 2028, overlapping the start of the new program.

Specific redevelopment plans for the Richland tract have not been publicly detailed beyond the proposal summary cited by the Journal. Commerce has encouraged investors to prepare Qualified Opportunity Fund strategies ahead of the January 2027 start date.

Sources

TriTown.info - 10/11/2026

West Richland reviewing plans for Planet Fitness on Keene Road

West Richland is reviewing plans for a new Planet Fitness on Keene Road, which would be the chain's fourth Tri-Cities gym and its first built from the ground up here. The public has until 5 p.m. Oct. 20 to comment on the project's environmental review.

Knutzen Engineering of Kennewick has asked the city for advance review under the State Environmental Policy Act for a 22,500-square-foot Planet Fitness and a separate 3,800-square-foot commercial building at 6260 Keene Road, according to a notice of application the West Richland Community Development Department issued Oct. 5.

The site sits on the northeast corner of Keene Road and Belmont Boulevard in the city's Belmont District. It is zoned Commercial General, which allows retail, sales and service businesses as a primary use. The Tri-City Herald reported that the commercial building would be split into two 1,600-square-foot retail suites across the parking lot from the gym, and that county records list the property owner as B Keene Dev LLC.

The gym would be a little larger than Planet Fitness's roughly 20,000-square-foot Kennewick location on Columbia Center Boulevard, which opened in 2017 in the former Value Village space. The chain's Pasco and Richland gyms also moved into existing buildings.

If the project is approved, construction is expected to start in spring 2027, with completion targeted for spring 2028, the Herald reported. The city says permitting and site studies are still under way.

The Community Development Department is the lead agency for the review. Written comments can be sent to the department at 3100 Belmont Blvd., Suite 104, West Richland, WA 99353, or to eransom@westrichland.org, and must arrive by 5 p.m. Oct. 20 to be considered. The staff contact is Senior Planner Elisha Ransom at 509-967-5902 or planner@westrichland.org. People who want notice of the final decision need to give the department their name and address.

Sources

TriTown.info - 10/05/2026

Inslee approves giant wind/solar project as Tri-Cities sues

(The Center Square) – Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee has approved a revised Site Certification Agreement for the Horse Heaven Wind Farm Project in Benton County.

The project is to be located just south of the Tri-Cities, where residents and local leaders are not giving up the fight against the massive wind turbine and solar array project.

As previously reported by The Center Square, a group called Tri-Cities CARES has argued the gigantic turbines, up to 671 feet tall, will destroy landscape views, endanger a fragile species – the ferruginous hawk – and impact Native American cultural sites.

“This monstrous wind and solar project is designed to cover more than 72,000 acres, or over 100 square miles of the Horse Heaven Hills too close to over 300,000 residents,” wrote TCC.

In a Sunday Facebook post soliciting donations, the organization said it’s launching “a legal battle to prevent the Tri-Cities from being significantly impacted by the Horse Heaven Hills Wind and Solar Project.”

Benton County, the Yakama Nation, and TCC have until the end of November to file a lawsuit challenging the governor’s decision.

Based on the concerns raised and pushback from the community, the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC, made up of mostly Washington state employees, initially recommended a scaled-back version of the project from the one Inslee wanted.

“We thought that EFSEC made a good compromise, and the most objective turbines were pushed back,” said TCC’s Dave Sharp in a September interview with The Center Square.

But then Gov. Inslee resisted the tailored recommendations, telling EFSEC that any scaling back of the project should be balanced with prioritizing “the state’s pressing clean energy needs.”

Much to the dismay of community members and local officials opposed to the project, EFSEC revisited and reconsidered some of the original objections related to buffer zones around former nesting sites for the endangered hawk where turbines could not be located and the protection of Native American sites.

The council ultimately gave Inslee most of what he wanted.

In an Oct. 18 letter to EFSEC, Inslee wrote, “After considering the record, I find that the Council evaluated this application in a manner consistent with the statutory requirements and intent of Chapter 80.50 RCW, and I concur with the Council’s recommendation to approve the application. In addition, I find that the Council carefully considered both the environmental impacts of the project and its consistency with the land use plans and ordinances in effect in Benton County.”

Read full article on The Center Square >>

The Center Square was launched in 2019 to fulfill the need for high-quality statehouse and statewide news across the United States. The Center Square is a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation, headquartered in Chicago.

News / North Franklin News - 11/14/2024