Downtown Kennewick's Coffee Row Runs Along West Kennewick Avenue

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

Historic 1906 Reed Building, a two story concrete block storefront in downtown Kennewick, Washington

Photo: Publichall, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rockabilly Roasting Co is at 101 W Kennewick Ave. Urban Grounds is at 217 W Kennewick Ave. Tri City Coffee Company is at 604 W Kennewick Ave, inside the Kennewick Flower Shop. Three coffee shops, one avenue, spread from the 100 block to the 600 block of downtown Kennewick. A short way off the avenue, Dutch Bros runs a downtown stand at 3 W Columbia Dr.

That stretch is the closest thing Kennewick has to a coffee row, and it deserves a post of its own. Kennewick is the largest of the three Tri Cities, with 84,389 residents in the Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey five year estimate, and most of that city lives far from its old downtown. But the avenue is where Kennewick began, and it is where a coffee walk still makes sense. I name each room here by its address and by what it says about itself, and nothing else.

West Kennewick Avenue, Block by Block

Read the three addresses in order and the avenue lays itself out. The 100 block holds 101 W Kennewick Ave. The 200 block holds 217 W Kennewick Ave. The 600 block holds 604 W Kennewick Ave. All three sit on the west side of the avenue's numbering, and all three are on the same straight downtown street.

That matters because Kennewick is otherwise a driving city. Its coffee, like its shopping, is spread along long commercial roads, and three of its four Dutch Bros stands sit well away from downtown. On West Kennewick Avenue, three independent cafes are close enough that a morning can take in more than one of them without moving the car.

It also matters for anyone searching. A search for coffee in the Tri Cities pulls in three cities at once. A search for coffee on Kennewick Avenue pulls in one street. The house numbers 101, 217 and 604 do more to put a drinker at the right door than any regional label can.

101 W Kennewick Ave: Rockabilly Roasting Co

Rockabilly Roasting Co sits at the east end of the row, at 101 W Kennewick Ave. It dates its Kennewick business to 2014, which gives it more than a decade on the avenue as of 2026. Its own line for itself is plain and memorable: serious coffee for seriously unserious people.

Its posted cafe hours run 7am to 2pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to 4pm on Friday and 8am to 4pm on Saturday, and it takes Sunday off. That makes it a morning and early afternoon room on weekdays, with a little more afternoon on Friday and Saturday. Anyone planning a downtown coffee stop on a weekday after 2pm should plan around that.

For a visitor, the 101 address is also the natural starting point of a walk. It sits at the low end of the avenue's numbering, so everything else on the row is to the west of it, and the rest of downtown is within a few blocks in every direction. Its phone number, 509 585 2320, is on its own pages for anyone who wants to call ahead.

217 W Kennewick Ave: Urban Grounds

One block west, at 217 W Kennewick Ave, is Urban Grounds. Visit Tri Cities, the regional tourism office, describes it as a coffee shop and boutique in historic downtown Kennewick, with gift items and clothing alongside the coffee, designed as a gathering place for family and friends.

That pairing of coffee and retail is a familiar downtown format. A room that sells gifts and clothing as well as drinks gives people a reason to linger, browse and come back, and it fits a Main Street district where shops and cafes feed each other's foot traffic. Visit Tri Cities gives its phone number as 509 619 0376.

On a coffee walk, 217 W Kennewick Ave sits between the two other cafes on the row, a block from 101 and a few blocks from 604. For anyone who likes to browse while the coffee cools, it is the stop in the middle.

604 W Kennewick Ave: Tri City Coffee Company

At the west end of the row, 604 W Kennewick Ave, is Tri City Coffee Company. Its own page says it is located inside the Kennewick Flower Shop, which makes it one of the more unusual coffee shops in the Tri Cities: a coffee counter sharing space with a working florist.

Its own words for the visit are simple. It offers artisan baked goods and pastries and invites people to stop by, grab some coffee and a bite to eat, and sit and relax a while. Its phone number, 509 591 0730, and its street address, 604 W Kennewick Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336, are printed on its own page.

Shared spaces like this are common in small downtowns. A coffee counter inside another business brings two sets of customers through the same door. Someone buying flowers stays for a coffee, and someone buying a coffee notices the flowers. For a visitor walking the avenue, it is the furthest west of the three stops and worth the extra blocks.

The Dutch Bros Stand at 3 W Columbia Dr

Downtown Kennewick also has a chain stand close to the row. Dutch Bros lists four Kennewick locations on its own city locator page, and one of them is a downtown stand at 3 W Columbia Dr. The other three are at 3918 Clearwater Avenue, 731 N Columbia Center Blvd and 4305 W 27th Pl, far from the river.

Columbia Drive is only a short hop from the avenue, so a broad search for coffee near downtown Kennewick will often mix that drive thru into the same short list as the three avenue cafes. That is not a problem for anyone. A drive thru and a sit down cafe serve different mornings, and a downtown with both has something for a commuter in a hurry and for a visitor with an hour to spare.

The useful distinction for a drinker is the format. The stand at 3 W Columbia Dr is built for a window. The cafes at 101, 217 and 604 W Kennewick Ave are built for walking in.

The Downtown the Avenue Belongs To

Kennewick was incorporated on February 5, 1904, in Benton County, on the south bank of the Columbia River. Some accounts say its name comes from a native word meaning grassy place, and others translate it as winter paradise. The downtown grid near the river is the oldest part of the city, and Kennewick Avenue runs through its heart.

That downtown has an organized champion. The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership is a volunteer driven nonprofit whose mission is to enhance the downtown's economic prosperity and vitality and to preserve its history through community partnerships. It works under Washington's Main Street program and promotes better connections between downtown, Columbia Drive and Clover Island.

The partnership also manages the South Columbia Creative District, which the state certified on October 6, 2021, as Washington's newest certified creative district at the time. Its borders run from the south bank of the Columbia River down to 6th Avenue and from Gum Street across to Fruitland Street, taking in the downtown grid. A coffee row inside a certified creative district is a natural fit: cafes are where artists, shoppers and workers meet.

From the Avenue to the River

Downtown Kennewick is close to the water, and that shapes a coffee walk. Clover Island, with its hotel, lighthouse and brewery, is one of the three places the downtown partnership works to connect, along with downtown itself and Columbia Drive. That work is meant to make a walk from the avenue to the water feel like one outing.

The river crossings are part of the downtown story too. The Blue Bridge, a four lane divided highway bridge, opened in 1954, and the Cable Bridge opened between Kennewick and Pasco in 1978 to replace the old Green Bridge. Both crossings tie Kennewick to Pasco, and they are a reminder that the avenue sits in a river city.

A simple plan joins the two. Take a coffee on the avenue, head toward Columbia Drive, and spend the rest of the morning by the river. The avenue's cafes and the waterfront belong to the same small part of the city.

Three Formats on One Street

The row is small, but it is not uniform. One room at 101 is a coffee bar with its own posted cafe hours. One room at 217 pairs coffee with a boutique of gifts and clothing. One room at 604 is a coffee counter inside a florist. Three different ways of serving a cup sit within six blocks of each other on the same downtown street.

That variety is part of what makes a walk worthwhile. A visitor can start with a focused coffee stop, browse racks and shelves with a drink in hand, and finish among flowers, all without leaving West Kennewick Avenue. None of the three needs to be everything, because the street as a whole covers a lot of ground.

It is also a picture of how many small downtowns keep coffee alive. Shared space, mixed retail and short, clear hours let independent cafes survive on foot traffic in a city where most customers arrive by car.

Planning a Morning on the Row

Hours decide the route. The room at 101 W Kennewick Ave opens at 7am on weekdays and 8am on Saturday, and closes at 2pm Monday through Thursday. A weekday walk that wants to include it should start in the morning and finish by early afternoon. Friday and Saturday give two more hours, to 4pm.

Sunday is the day to check ahead. The cafe at 101 takes Sunday off, and hours for the other two cafes are best confirmed on their business listings before a special trip. That is good advice for any small downtown, where a holiday, an event or a staffing change can shift a day's schedule.

For a visitor, the best combination is a weekday or Saturday morning, a start at the east end of the row at 101, a browse at 217 and a walk west to 604. The whole row is a short stroll, and the river is a few blocks away when the cups are empty.

Kennewick Is More Than Its Downtown

The coffee row is only one part of Kennewick. The city is the region's shopping center, home to Columbia Center Mall, the only mall in the area, and much of its everyday coffee is out on the commercial roads. Visit Tri Cities lists seven Kennewick entries on its coffee page, half of the 14 it lists across the region, and most of those addresses sit away from the downtown avenue.

Kennewick also has a separate coffee corridor on Gage Boulevard, covered in another Hillcane post, and a chain layer spread along Clearwater Avenue, Columbia Center Boulevard and West 27th Place. Anyone who lives out that way has plenty of coffee close to home.

But the avenue is where the city began, and it is where the independent cafes sit close enough together to walk between. For anyone who wants to understand Kennewick coffee on foot, West Kennewick Avenue from 101 to 604 is the place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the coffee shops in downtown Kennewick?

Downtown Kennewick's independent coffee sits on West Kennewick Avenue. Rockabilly Roasting Co is at 101 W Kennewick Ave, Urban Grounds is at 217 W Kennewick Ave, and Tri City Coffee Company is at 604 W Kennewick Ave inside the Kennewick Flower Shop. Dutch Bros also runs a downtown drive thru stand a short way off the avenue at 3 W Columbia Dr.

What are Rockabilly Roasting Co's hours?

Rockabilly Roasting Co at 101 W Kennewick Ave posts cafe hours of 7am to 2pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to 4pm on Friday and 8am to 4pm on Saturday, and it takes Sunday off. It dates its Kennewick business to 2014, so a weekday visit works best in the morning, with a little more afternoon time at the end of the week.

What is Urban Grounds in Kennewick?

Urban Grounds is at 217 W Kennewick Ave in historic downtown Kennewick. Visit Tri Cities describes it as a coffee shop and boutique that sells gift items and clothing alongside coffee, designed as a gathering place for family and friends. It sits one block west of 101 W Kennewick Ave, in the middle of the avenue's coffee row.

Where is Tri City Coffee Company?

Tri City Coffee Company is at 604 W Kennewick Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336. Its own page says it is located inside the Kennewick Flower Shop and offers artisan baked goods and pastries, inviting visitors to grab coffee and a bite and sit and relax a while. It is the westernmost of the three coffee shops on the downtown avenue.

Is there a Dutch Bros in downtown Kennewick?

Yes. Dutch Bros lists a downtown Kennewick stand at 3 W Columbia Dr, one of four Kennewick locations on its city locator page. The others are at 3918 Clearwater Avenue, 731 N Columbia Center Blvd and 4305 W 27th Pl. The Columbia Drive stand is close to West Kennewick Avenue, so downtown coffee searches often show it with the avenue cafes.

When was Kennewick founded?

Kennewick was incorporated on February 5, 1904, in Benton County on the south bank of the Columbia River. Its old downtown grid, where West Kennewick Avenue runs, is the oldest part of the city. Some accounts trace the name to a native word meaning grassy place, while others translate it as winter paradise. Rockabilly Roasting Co dates its avenue business to 2014.

What is the South Columbia Creative District?

The South Columbia Creative District is downtown Kennewick's state certified creative district, certified on October 6, 2021, and managed by the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership. Its borders run from the south bank of the Columbia River to 6th Avenue and from Gum Street to Fruitland Street, taking in the downtown grid around West Kennewick Avenue and its coffee shops.

Can I walk between the coffee shops on Kennewick Avenue?

Yes. The three cafes sit on the same downtown street, at 101, 217 and 604 W Kennewick Ave, spanning the 100 block to the 600 block. A walk from the east end at 101 to the west end at 604 passes the middle stop at 217. The river, which forms the northern edge of the downtown creative district, is close by for anyone continuing on foot.

How big is Kennewick?

Kennewick counted 84,389 residents in the Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey five year estimate, the largest of the three Tri Cities, ahead of Pasco at 78,446 and Richland at 61,912. It is also the region's shopping hub, home to Columbia Center Mall, and it holds seven of the 14 entries on the Visit Tri Cities coffee page.

What else is near downtown Kennewick's coffee row?

Clover Island has a hotel, a lighthouse and a brewery, and the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership works to connect it, Columbia Drive and downtown. The Cable Bridge, opened in 1978, and the Blue Bridge, opened in 1954, link Kennewick to Pasco across the Columbia River, whose south bank forms the northern edge of downtown's creative district.

Work with Hillcane

Three coffee shops sit on one street in downtown Kennewick: 101, 217 and 604 W Kennewick Ave. Here is the row, block by block, with a Dutch Bros a short hop away on Columbia Drive.

If your Kennewick Avenue coffee room wants its block, its hours and its story to read plainly wherever people look, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.