May 2023 Volume 22 | Issue 5
Golf Universe to spread its swings with move to new Kennewick shop By Jeff Morrow
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
Environment
For two decades, this group has fought to preserve iconic Tri-City peaks Page A13
Transportation
Water2Wine has new chef and is ready to cruise Page A23
Real Estate & Construction
Shoreline facelift opens up development opportunities Page B1
NOTEWORTHY “Everyone says don’t expect to make a profit the first year. I’m saying, ‘Hold my smoothie.’ ” - Lindsey Ross, owner of Wonderland Pole and Dance
Page A34
High costs of maintaining an outdoor golf range, as well as the need to better serve customers, has forced Golf Universe to change its strategy. Sun Pacific Energy, which owns Golf Universe at 6311 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick, is moving the golf-focused shop about a mile away to 825 N. Edison St., across the street from Kamiakin High School, at the beginning of next year. The plan means abandoning the location where it’s been for well over 20 years, as well as its 4-acre outdoor driving range and two mini golf courses. But customers can expect exciting new changes at the new, bigger location, said Jarrod Franson, operations manager for Sun Pacific. Golf Universe will embrace technology to better serve its customers and provide a wider selection of golf equipment at more competitive prices. Franson also said there will be a bigger and better club repair shop inside the new store. “All of this allows more one on one time with the customer with an employee who is certified and trained,” said Franson, who expects the current number of employees (six) to remain the same at the new store. Golf Universe’s 10-year lease agreement with Adams Enterprises expires on Dec. 31. Adams Enterprises has not announced any public plans for the Clearwater Avenue property.
New development Golf Universe will move into a $4.5 million development planned by Craig and Marilee Eerkes. Craig Eerkes has run Sun Pacific Energy, and before that Tri-City Oil, for the past 40 years. The couple’s son, Chris Eerkes, is the company’s president. uGOLF UNIVERSE, Page A4
Photo by Laura Kostad Jacqueline Musser Gering, center, runs Estate Details with the help of her husband, Bryson Gering, left, and mother, Teresa Musser. The estate auction business opened three years ago. Explosive growth pushed them to break off from Musser Brothers into their own LLC. A new headquarters with lease space is underway across the street from Trucks and Auto on Rickenbacker Drive near the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco.
New buildings, new headquarters under construction at Musser auction complex By Laura Kostad
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
An estimated $3 million development signals growth at the Musser Bros. auction complex near the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco. But vehicles destined for the auction block won’t be found here. One of the two new buildings at 3074 Rickenbacker Drive will be home to Musser Bros.’ youngest company, Estate Details, which peeled off from the main company at the beginning of this year to form its own LLC. The business runs online auctions for furniture, houseware, tools, collectibles, sport-
ing goods and odds and ends. It helps families downsize, liquidate estates after a death or move into a retirement home, or sell collections like coins, clocks or die-cast toys. Between Musser Bros., Trucks and Auto Auctions, and Estate Details, the Musser operation can manage the sale of all estate assets: land, home, vehicles and house contents. “When we present that to a lot of our clients, it’s a real relief to them,” said Scott Musser, president and chief executive officer for Musser Bros. Inc. & Trucks & Auto Auctions LLC. Estate Details is a family affair. uESTATE DETAILS, Page A19
Benton City ‘blank slate’ could one day be home to upscale mixed-use development By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz
A roughly 235-acre “blank slate” of largely untouched land south of Interstate 82 in Benton City could one day be home to a mix of wineries, hotels, shops, homes and more. The city recently took a significant step toward making that happen by adopting a subarea plan that lays out a long-range vision and development strategy for the property. “We want something nice – a high-end, upscale development that’s going to be a place where people want to come,” said Mayor Linda Lehman. “It’s a good place to promote Red Mountain and support the wine industry that we’ve got out here. If
we have light industrial and retail and hotels (in the subarea), that’s jobs for us, and then there’s housing that we desperately need.” The city council finalized adoption of the subarea plan in unanimous vote earlier this month. During the meeting, some nearby residents expressed concern about the impact of future development, saying the additional businesses and people would put pressure on city services. Lehman later told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business that any future development would go through the required review process to ensure it could be accommodated.
uBLANK SLATE, Page A5
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