April 2023 Volume 22 | Issue 4
Local company helping with NASA moonshot By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz
Hanford
A specialty publication of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business Page C1
Diversity
At this Kennewick bakery, a taste of home – and a dream realized Page A19
Real Estate & Construction
Revamped planetarium helps community understand universe Page B1
NOTEWORTHY
“We expect the new Bigfoot room to open within five months. I’ve learned that people like physical challenges. And Bigfoot will have a lot of physical puzzles.” - Julianne Wright, owner of Atomic Escape Rooms, Richland
Page B7
A Richland company is helping NASA reach for the moon and beyond. Fluid Controls and Components Inc., or FCCI, has been awarded a $4.6 million contract from Bechtel to help with Mobile Launcher 2, a key part of NASA’s Artemis program. Bechtel is designing, building, testing and commissioning the launcher, which is a ground platform used to support the Space Launch System rocket. Bechtel tapped FCCI to manage the design and fabrication of cryogenic and pressure relief valves for the project. The Richland company is responsible for ensuring the valves meet their intended technical and performance functions. It’s a time- and labor-intensive process, said Russ Watson, vice president for FCCI. It’s also a thrilling one for the company, which is a division of the Pennsylvania-based Dupill Group. “To have a role in the Artemis program is incredible. Our entire staff is very, very excited about the project,” Watson said. “To have Bechtel and their client, NASA, put their full faith and trust in our company out here in Richland is humbling to say the least.” Through the Artemis program, named for the Greek goddess of the moon, NASA says it will “land the first woman and first person of color on the moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.” The space agency will “collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first longterm presence on the moon,” using what it learns to send the first-ever astronauts to Mars. NASA has assembled a team of Artemis astronauts, including Richland High School graduate Kayla Barron, to take part in the missions. Earlier this month, the space agency named the crew of Artemis II, which is expected to fly uFCCI, Page A10
Photo by Sara Schilling Mike Bishop, left, and Ryan Pierson are taking over the iconic Spudnut Shop in Richland’s Uptown Shopping Center. They pledge to maintain the charm and feeling of community that’s help the shop thrive for 75 years.
Meet the new owners of the iconic Spudnut Shop By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz
Mike Bishop and Ryan Pierson know the Spudnut Shop is something special. They’ve known it for years. Both men – who have long histories and deep ties in the community – spent time there growing up. Pierson is the son of teachers, and when his family ate out, they ate at local spots like the Spudnut Shop, which serves as an anchor of the Uptown Shopping Center in Richland. And Bishop has sweet memories of grabbing a spudnut or two on the way to
school or on a Saturday morning as a kid – a tradition he’s continued with his own children. So now that the longtime friends are buying the business from the family that started it all, they aren’t planning to make big changes. Instead, they’re aiming to preserve the charm and the feeling of community that’s made the shop a local icon and an unqualified success for the last 75 years. And, of course, they’re learning the ins and outs of creating the famed spudnuts, which are pastries made from potato flour. “We’re observing the baking process. uSPUDNUTS, Page A4
McCurley Dealerships plans $31 million expansion By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz
McCurley Dealerships aims to be the best auto group in the market it serves, and it’s planning a significant facility expansion across multiple properties to support that vision. The roughly $31 million expansion includes adding about 50,000 square feet at the Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership in the Pasco Autoplex, plus expanding the McCurley Subaru dealership off Sandifur Parkway in Pasco and building a new home for the Yakima dealership. “It’s exciting,” said John Inman, Mc-
Curley’s chief executive officer. “When you’re in our business, when your purpose is to serve the client, and you’re handicapped in any way to do that in terms of capacity, it’s frustrating. When we’re able to actually have the ability to serve a client in the way they want to be served, it’s really exciting.” All the projects are expected to start this summer and finish in about 18 to 24 months. Mountain States Construction Co. is the general contractor and Real Centric Solutions LLC is the project manager. uMCCURLEY, Page A29
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