Latest news with #WashingtonStateFair
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A new pizza drive-thru and other restaurant updates in East Pierce County so far in 2025
Stories by Tacoma News Tribune journalists, with AI summarization This list of stories highlights restaurant updates in East Pierce County in early 2025, including Just a Pizza My Mind opening a drive-thru for easy pizza pickup in Milton. Another change is that Puyallup's Taco Time is relocating so a new Starbucks can move in. One of the big projects in East Pierce County this year involves six new restaurants and a rooftop bar at the Washington State Fair. The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. 'Pretty much any time we're eating something, we're like, 'How can I make this a pizza?'' one of the owners said. 'To us, pizza dough is just bread, so it's like, 'Why can't you do all these unique things on it?'' | Published April 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund A James Beard-nominated chef is overseeing the project in Puyallup. It's part of $28 million in renovations that the fair is doing this year. The food hall will replace a building that was a fair fixture for 40 years. | Published March 12, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund Most restaurants would kill for this kind of natural light. Enjoy it with a house pastry or a full meal of fresh fish, seasonal soup and salad or a gooey grilled cheese. | Published January 29, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kristine Sherred There's Indian-Southern BBQ fusion, a bar in a coffee shop, pizza by the slice, lots of fried chicken and cheesesteaks. Here's what else is new around town. | Published April 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kristine Sherred The $2.4 million project is underway. The taco drive-thru is open during construction. | Published April 7, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund Our reporters, visual journalists and editors have some short takes on what they've consumed in and around Tacoma recently. | Published March 6, 2025 | Read Full Story This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Here are the big-name concerts coming to the 2025 Washington State Fair in Puyallup
Meghan Trainor is coming to the Washington State Fair this September, the latest announcement in a string of big names set to hit the stage. The fair said in a press release Monday that Trainor — most famous for her 2014 hit 'All About that Bass' – will perform at the Washington State Fair Event Center on Aug. 31 as part of the 2025 Umpqua Bank Concert series. She plays pop and R&B music. Other major artists set to come to the fair so far are Ludacris (Sept. 13), T-Pain (Sept. 19), Toto (Aug. 29), Darius Rucker (Sept. 21), Riley Green (Aug. 30) and more. Ludacris plays rap music, including his hits 'Stand Up' and 'Money Maker.' Rapper T-Pain is also expected to perform at the fair this year as well as the rock band Toto, most known for their smash hit 'Africa.' Rucker is a country music star who used to be the frontman for the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. 'There Was This Girl,' and 'I Wish Grandpas Never Died' are some of Green's well-known country songs. The full lineup can be found here. Eleven acts have been announced so far from Aug. 29 to Sept. 21. Prices vary and some tickets also include admission to the fair. Trainor's tickets cost between $65 and $145. Tickets are on sale for all artists in the lineup so far except for Trainor. Tickets for Trainor's show will be available to the general public on April 2 at 10 a.m.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tacoma's biscotti maven bids farewell after 13 years, says it's ‘been an awesome ride'
The Art of Crunch, which supplied Tacoma-area coffee shops and restaurants with homemade biscotti, brownies, bars, crackers and more, has closed after 13 years. Owner Rhonda Hamlin delivered her last batch of goodies to customers, including Curran Coffee in Old Town and Two Fox Winery in Lakebay, this week. They wanted to stock up, she said, and that commitment 'means so much, because you know it's just supporting each other locally.' Informing her wholesale clients was, she added, one of the most challenging parts of shutting down the business she started as a single mom to two now-grown kids in 2012. It also elongated the process of shutting down, as she began thinking about it seriously last fall. 'I'd get frustrated and tried to think of what in the world I would even want to do,' she reflected in a phone call with The News Tribune. Outside of juggling prior jobs through the first couple of years, she was baking full-time by 2014, growing to employ four people. After struggling to find the right space to have her own brick-and-mortar with an equipped commercial kitchen, she found The Gourmet Niche at 7104 6th Ave., a commissary owned by chef and caterer Bette Anne Curry. 'That part has been great,' said Hamlin, noting its flexibility, cost, mentorship and access to advice from fellow food entrepreneurs. She went into business after perfecting a biscotti recipe that, years prior, earned her a blue-ribbon in a baking contest at the Washington State Fair. The winner: cranberry biscotti dipped in white chocolate. Flavors have touched on the likes of lavender-caramel, ginger-lemon and tiramisu, according to a 2017 feature in The News Tribune. At the time, she had a tent at the Proctor Farmers Market, too. She also made specialties hard to find locally such as Nanaimo bars, a Canadian chocolate and custard wafer of sorts. Lately, other vendors have included Coffeezaun on Pearl in the North End, Wide Awake Cafe (which recently opened a third location on Ruston Way), Delightful Neighborhood Market, Happy Belly and Sandwich Starr. As the pandemic impacted her clients, she tried her hand at her own retail storefront at The Gourmet Niche, with a boost from neighbor Wildside Wine. That helped alleviate some of the residual financial struggles, but she was careful not to undercut her loyal clients and hesitated to raise prices. They were already paying a premium to support a small brand over a processed good from Costco or other commercial suppliers, she noted. 'It's hard being a small wholesaler,' she explained, adding that the profit margin is smaller than selling direct-to-consumer. 'I didn't have the cash flow to buy a lot in bulk nor anywhere to store it. I go all over the place for certain things.' She felt OK coming out of 2020 and 2021, but lately, everything was just adding up — or rather, not so much. 'It just wasn't enough,' she continued. 'The cost of ingredients and minimum wage, taxes, licensing — you just name it, everything's going up.' What was for more than a decade a way to make a living felt increasingly impractical, she said, especially as she headed into her early 60s. 'I just got tired of fighting it, that's all,' Hamlin said. Before starting The Art of Crunch, she worked at Nordstrom and will, in a sense, return to retail — this time at Metropolitan Market. Serving Tacoma for 13 years has 'been an awesome ride,' she said, but she hopes locals take a closer look at the small businesses that surround them. 'There are so many hats to wear behind the scenes,' she said. 'I just think it would challenge people to really pay attention to small businesses you really like but maybe don't go to a lot. I've had people come to me and say, 'Oh my gosh, I should have come to you more often.' That little place over there? You need more people to go that place instead of Walmart or Target or whatever. Just a few extra pennies at the small place would certainly help a lot.'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Six new restaurants, rooftop bar coming to Washington State Fair. Here's what we know
Six new restaurants and a rooftop bar are coming to the Washington State Fair – just in time for the fair's 125th anniversary. According to a Facebook post from the fair, construction is underway for the 1900 Food Hall & Rooftop Bar. Stacy Van Horne, the public relations manager for the fair, told The News Tribune the new food hall and rooftop bar will be available on the first day of the Washington State Fair on Aug. 29. The new project is named after the fair's first year in operation. '[The rooftop bar] is probably one of the coolest views you'll get at the Spring Fair and State Fair,' Van Horne said this week. 'It's so pretty during the day and night too, with all the rides surrounding it. It's a central hub of the fairgrounds.' Van Horne told The News Tribune this new food hall is part of $28 million in renovations the fair is doing in 2025. Guests will be able to get burgers at Benji's Diner, gourmet sandwiches at Big Mouth Sandos, pizza at Upper Crust, food inspired by the Pacific Northwest at The Pier, Asian cuisine at Fat Panda and desserts at DOH! Sweets & Treats. The chef behind the 1900 Food Hall is James Beard-nominated chef Mich Mayers, who is overseeing the vision behind all six options. 'We feel like having this diversity in six restaurants really gives something to everybody,' Van Horne said. The new hall will replace the International Village, which had been a fair fixture for 40 years. The International Village was a major hub for food at the fair, offering a variety of dishes from several restaurants and a rooftop bar. 'The building was old and decrepit — so for aesthetic reasons, for safety reasons, for good variety and to continue to become a first-class facility, we knew that we had to bring this building down and find a great way to rebuild it,' Van Horne said. The $28 million in renovations also includes a new water feature at the front of the Gold Gate. Another major renovation project is the demolition of Barn M, which will be replaced with an entertainment area. The animals in Barn M will be relocated to other areas of the fairgrounds.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Yahoo
It's a ‘Puyallup thing.' Horses stroll through town after equestrian adventure goes awry
It was shaping up to be a standard Saturday for a family of equestrians from Monroe, Washington, but a routine voyage to the farm sent them instead to the fair with the help of the police. The family was driving from their home in Snohomish County, about 30 miles northeast of Seattle, to Yelm, a rural town not far from the state capital. In tow was a white and gray animal trailer with three horses: Boris, Kenney and Atlas. After merging onto Route 512 near Puyallup, Atlas 'suffered a serious accident,' according to social media posts from the Puyallup Police Department. The horse somehow got a hoof and leg stuck and fell, Captain Jason Visnaw explained Saturday afternoon. The family exited the busy highway at the next chance, which took them to the parking lot of New Hope Resource Center off Pioneer Way and 5th Street Southeast in the heart of the city, which is also home to the Washington State Fair. They 'flagged down' a police car that happened to be driving by. They called 911. Atlas was 'in serious distress in the trailer,' police said. He couldn't move. Officers and firefighters from Central Pierce Fire and Rescue arrived at the scene. They managed to pry apart the metal around Atlas's leg, but he needed immediate medical assistance. His fellow horsies couldn't tag along, but what to do with two such beauts in the middle of downtown Puyallup? The police had the quick thought to call the Washington State Fair, whose employees 'jumped into action and got a stable ready to receive Boris and Kenney,' according to the Facebook and X posts. With traffic guidance from officers and firefighters, one of the family members did as horse owners do: walked the horses through town and to the fairgrounds under a mile south. 'It was quite the sight to see and there were lots of smiles along the way,' police wrote about the surprise rodeo parade. Boris and Kenney nibbled on some lunch, compliments of the Fair. Atlas is being treated at a large-animal hospital in the area. Meanwhile, one of the responding officers, who is new to this force, expressed awe and perhaps some confusion at the whole affair. 'We told him it was a 'Puyallup thing,'' police wrote.
