"The Falls is a better fit for us," Nena Langford told the Tri-City Herald last October. She was explaining why Café Magnolia, the brunch and European pastry spot she runs with her husband Chad, planned to leave its small space at Cynergy Centre for a much bigger one a block away on West 24th Avenue.
That move was set for March 1. In mid-October 2026, Café Magnolia is still at Cynergy. Meanwhile a Punjabi-style pizza place is celebrating its grand opening at The Falls, and the most talked-about future tenant near the roundabout is still a grass lot.
If you live in West Highlands, this is the stretch of South Union Street you drive every week. It runs from Highlands Grange Park at 16th Avenue down past 24th to the roundabout at 27th, where the Herald starts calling the area Southridge. The food side of that corridor is being rebuilt around one new building. Some of what was announced for it has opened and some hasn't. For now the steadiest gathering place on Union is the park at the top of the hill, and on Halloween morning the city will put that to work.
The Building the Corridor Is Turning Toward
The Falls, at 4112 W. 24th Ave., comes from Elite Construction + Development. When it opened, the Tri-City Herald called it "arguably Kennewick's first modern project to mix both residential and commercial uses on the same property." The property combines apartments with for-rent storage units and a row of street-level retail spaces.
In October 2025 the retail row already had a barber shop and Smooth N Slice café, with "a pizza shop under construction." Elite's CEO, Trini Garibay, said Café Magnolia would make the project almost fully leased, leaving one 1,600-square-foot space open. He said he hoped to fill it with a market, salon or fitness studio.
That plan made The Falls the new center of this part of Union. The old center, the Cynergy Centre corner at 27th and Union, was home to the brunch spot that drew the longest lines. The new building was meant to take that crowd and give it room.
The Pizza Shop Got There First
Sifithu Pizza & Bar is the one that opened. The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business listed it at 4112 W. 24th Ave. in its July 2026 update as the second Sifithu, after the original in West Richland.
The official grand opening is today, Monday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m., according to the Herald. Co-owners Jatinder Singh, Raj Samdatr and Bobby Singh are serving Indian Punjabi-style pizzas such as Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken. They told the paper they hope it turns into a place to watch sports, with a bar and several flat screens.
The hours depend on which report you read. In July, the Area Journal listed Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with shorter Sunday hours and Mondays closed. The Herald's October report gives Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Neither report explains the change, so check before you plan a late dinner around it.
If the October hours hold, this stretch of Union has a kitchen open until 11 p.m. six nights a week.
The Brunch Spot Is Still Around the Corner
Café Magnolia first opened at 4309 W. 27th Pl. in Cynergy Centre, and the Area Journal reported the opening in July 2022. Its following is built on brunch, coffee and European desserts. The Herald said Sundays were its busiest day, with "guests braving lines and parking shortages."
The plan for The Falls was a big step up: about 4,300 square feet, roughly four times its current space. The new spot was to have a pizza oven, an in-house bakery, room for private events and catering, an expansive patio and a French country look.
Two reports from September 10, 2026, still place the café at Cynergy. The Herald described the area near the roundabout as Café Magnolia's "current" spot. The Area Journal listed it among the building's current tenants in a story about Cynergy Center itself. Neither report explains the delay, and we haven't found anything confirming a new date. As of today, the move is announced but not finished.
That Area Journal story was about a sale. Cynergy Center is the curved-glass office building at 27th and Union, built in 2006. It sold for $5.1 million to a buyer listed as 4309 West 27th Place LLC. The paper reported the building fully leased, with more than 60% medical offices. Eight years earlier it had sat empty for months. The corner Café Magnolia planned to leave is fully occupied.
The Taproom Is Still a Grass Lot
The third piece is the furthest off. The Kiln Taproom, a six-year-old Yakima business, announced in September that it had found its Tri-Cities site at 2605 S. Williams Place. That's near the Gesa Credit Union branch and Café Magnolia's current spot by the Union and 27th roundabout, according to the Herald.
The Yakima flagship has 30 Pacific Northwest beers on tap and a menu of pizzas, kiln sandwiches and pastas. Its large outdoor area has picnic tables and umbrellas, and it hosts live music and bingo. Planning documents describe the Kennewick version as family-friendly, built around handmade pizzas and regional beers. Co-owner Shayna Koch gave the Herald a best estimate of summer or early fall 2027 for completion. For now the lot is just grass.
All three projects put pizza at the center of the corridor's next stage. Sifithu runs a sports bar at The Falls, Café Magnolia's planned kitchen includes a pizza oven, and the Kiln plans a pizza taproom with outdoor seating at the roundabout. Only Sifithu is open.
Up the Hill, the Park Already Does the Job
While the lower end of Union waits on construction schedules, Highlands Grange Park at 1600 S. Union St. already has everything a neighborhood gathering spot needs. The City of Kennewick lists it at 26 acres. It has an aquatic playground, a regular playground, a community garden, a walking path, tennis and basketball courts, an in-line hockey court, ball fields and soccer fields, picnic shelters including the Highlands Grange Rose Garden Picnic Shelter, and the Highlands Grange Building, which you can rent.
On Saturday, Oct. 31, the city is holding its Zombie Dash there. Runners and walkers go through a short course while trying to keep zombies from stealing their flags, with Halloween-themed areas around the corners and prizes afterward. It's free, all ages are welcome, and family-friendly costumes are encouraged. Turner & Townsend Heery presents it in partnership with The Big Bro Joe Foundation.
Here's what you need for the morning:
- When: 10 a.m. to noon, in waves, with the first wave at 10 a.m.
- Registration: Required ahead of time through the city's recreation catalog, and it closes Monday, Oct. 26. That's two weeks from today.
- Kids: Children under 14 must go through the course with a registered adult, and both the child and the adult have to sign up.
- Onsite: Vivid Imaginations will offer face painting for purchase. A Beverage Co. and Deez Donuts will sell Halloween-themed snacks and drinks.
The city is bringing in outside food for the morning, and that matches the rest of this story. On the West Highlands end of Union, the park is the dependable gathering place, and the restaurants are still catching up a few blocks south.
Three Saturdays Around the Corridor
The next three Saturdays line up well with this stretch.
- Oct. 16 and 17, Fall Market. The free bazaar at Kennewick Valley Grange #731, at 27th and Washington Street, runs Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Grange café serves biscuits and gravy, soup and sandwiches, and fresh brownies.
- Oct. 24, Boo Bash downtown. Historic Downtown Kennewick runs Boo Bash & Trick or Treat Safe Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 204 West Kennewick Avenue.
- Oct. 31, Zombie Dash, then lunch on 24th. Finish a morning wave at Highlands Grange Park, then head down Union to Sifithu. Under the October hours reported by the Herald, it's open by 10 a.m. on Saturdays, so it's ready well before the noon finish.
Café Magnolia is still another option a block away at Cynergy. Since its move hasn't been confirmed, check its current hours and location before you go.
Amanda and the team at Hart2Homes & The Hive watch the Union Street corridor the same way we watch our new builds, one milestone at a time. When The Falls fills its last storefront, Café Magnolia sets a new date, or the Kiln lot breaks ground, we'll be tracking it. If you want to talk about what all this building means for your corner of West Highlands, Book a Free Consultation and we'll walk you through it.
