Pizza shop in Kennewick’s Southridge rebranding + new restaurant opens at old Kiko’s
A Kennewick pizza restaurant known for its woodsy saloon exterior at the city’s southern gateway, reopens with a new name at 11 a.m., April 5.
Hot Stone LLC, a Vancouver, Wash. franchisee of The Rock Wood Fired Pizza, closed the Kennewick restaurant and disconnected its phone number. A sign at the business indicates it is being rebranded to “Hotstone LLC.”
Hotstone, aka Hot Stone, posted job openings for a pizza cook, a host and a dishwasher for a restaurant the new brand identified as The Rock Kennewick.
State corporation records list Hot Stone LLC as the legal name for Vancouver and Kennewick restaurants that operated under The Rock name.
The Rock, a restaurant franchise, removed Kennewick from its location list.
The two-story restaurant, at 4862 Hildebrand Blvd., dominates the intersection at West Hildebrand Boulevard and Highway 395, near the Southridge Sports and Events Complex.
An anchor of the Southridge business zone that includes restaurants and a coffee shop, it made headlines in 2022 when it agreed to pay an $11,000 fine to settle a federal complaint it denied service to a customer who used a service animal, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The restaurant cooperated with the investigation and undertook measures to comply with ADA requirements in the future.
Hot Stone Kennewick holds a general business license as well as a liquor license, a license to sell kegs to go and also to employ minors. There currently are no building permits on file with the city of Kennewick to indicate it intends to change its exterior signs.
New restaurant at old Kiko’s spot
Santa Fe Restaurant has opened in the former Kiko’s Tacos spot in downtown Kennewick, at 1014 S. Washington St., near Kennewick City Hall and the former Kennewick General Hospital. Kiko’s, a downtown Kennewick fixture, closed during the COVID pandemic and never reopened.
Santa Fe Restaurant is operated by Octavio Rodriguez and has an active license to serve spirits, beer and wine at its bar and to provide takeout and delivery service.
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