KENNEWICK, Wash. — Nine months ago, KAPP KVEW met Chris Corbin on a blank canvas of land nestled between Chuck E. Cheese’s and Sportsman Warehouse, as he shared his plans for a food mecca of the Tri-Cities: Summer’s Hub.
“Today’s the day,” Chris Corbin said, while smiling.
Tuesday marked the opening of Summer’s Hub and Brady’s Brats and Burgers. The hub is a place for food trucks to call home, with access to a commissary kitchen behind Corbin’s restaurant.
“I can of relate it to having a kid, you’re never quite ready but you figure it out once it happens,” Corbin laughed.
On Monday, Corbin said he got the call about a permit they’d been waiting on which would allow them to finally open their doors.
“Twenty-four hours ago I thought it was going to be a no — boom here we are!”
Summer’s Hub is concept unlike any other in the Tri-Cities. At the Kennewick-based location, each vendor has access to electrical, water, wastewater and natural gas.
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Corbin said pioneering the concept was quite an endeavor amidst labor and supply shortages.
“Yes, they’re all a struggle, employees, food, food costs are going up, supplies; you’d be surprised both in the kitchen and in the hub,” Corbin owns another Brady’s Brats and Burgers in Sandy, Oregon.
Luckily, Corbin had some help sifting through it all.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Joel Kruse said.
Kruse, the General Manager of Western Restaurant Supply, helped build out the restaurant’s kitchen and helped create a majority of the food truck vendors who will eventually park at Summer’s Hub in Kennewick.
“I think it’s so cool that something like this has finally come to the Tri-Cities region,” he said.
Kruse said the local food truck and trailer industry in the Tri-Cities has exploded in the past couple of years; currently they’re booked out 36 months to outfit trucks and trailers, with 50 clients in the docket.
During this process, Kruse said they get to know their clients well, and are thrilled that food trucks and trailers have a secure place to operate their livelihoods.
“We wish nothing but the best for everybody that comes down here and wants to set up shop and I think it’s going to be a really great thing for the Tri-Cities,” he said.
Corbin said they have a couple of spots open for food vendors, but they will fill up quickly. You can contact them here to enquire about renting a space.
The Tri-Cities native said he’s thrilled to share his passion project with everyone.
It’s overwhelming, it does feel good. This was the fear that you open up and no one would show up, but they’re coming, and I have a feeling it’s only going to pick up as we start doing more events at the Hub.”
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