Somebody Needs to Bring These 5 Restaurants to Yakima Or Else
Yakima has spoken and we are sick and tired of not having some of our favorite restaurants available in this town! We want them and we want them now. If only some entrepreneurial people with the guts to open a franchise and the cajones to launch our dreams had the capital and commercial retail space to take a chance of the top five restaurants craved by folks in the "WTF Just Happened in Yakima?" Facebook group.
This local group of folks has, in my opinion, the BEST gauge on the pulse of the city, so I took a look at over 1,000 comments from people saying which restaurants they wanted, then I tallied up the top 5 results (no, I don't have a life, ha). Let's see if your favorite in-demand restaurant made the top 5!
1. YAKIMA WANTS A SALAD BAR
We don't have a stand-alone vegetarian, vegan, or salad bar restaurant but we, for now, DO have some superior options right here in Yakima.
Mangoz Grill Asian Fusion
901 W Yakima Ave Suite 6B
NuYu Juice Bar
2209 W. Nob Hill Blvd
Provisions Restaurant + Market
Open Wednesday through Saturday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Cowiche Canyon Kitchen + Ice Bar
2. YAKIMA WANTS A CRACKER BARREL RESTAURANT
Some people in Yakima are fuming mad that we don't have a Cracker Barrel here. The closest Cracker Barrel to Yakima is in Portland, Oregon (12050 N Center Ave, Portland). They do have some good grub, I mean doesn't this country-fried steak platter make your mouth water a little bit?
3. YAKIMA WANTS A TEXAS ROADHOUSE
No, we don't have a Texas Roadhouse here in Yakima and that is rather surprising, seeing as how many people love going to a steakhouse restaurant. We also miss Black Angus (may the great memories and good food RIP). There is a Texas Roadhouse in Kennewick, and even though it's about an hour and twenty minutes away, that will have to do for now.
4. YAKIMA MISSES OUR GREAT BUFFET RESTAURANTS
We couldn't do much to stop the buffet restaurants from either closing down altogether (Old Country Buffet) or pivoting their buffet concepts to stay in business (Minado's Buffet). People in Yakima are yearning for the return of Chinese, Salad Bar, and Mexican buffets post-COVID--if that day ever comes. (Stay positive!) If we could wave a magic wand, we'd stick a Golden Corral or Ryan's Buffet somewhere in the city.)
5. YAKIMA REALLY, REALLY WANTS A CHICK-FIL-A RESTAURANT
Chick-fil-A all day, every day, seems to be the mantra many people in Yakima are craving. This restaurant is the #1 most requested place according to those 1,000 comments I painstakingly tallied up on an Excel sheet! We have many people who would not patronize Chick-fil-A because of their controversial political stances but there are just as many who would pack the drive-thru at all hours of the day (EXCEPT FOR SUNDAYS because they're not open on Sundays). There are a crap ton of Chick-fil-A locations in Washington. The closest one to us in Yakima is located two hours away in Covington, WA.
If you really get a burning desire for Chick-fil-A and can't make the long drive over to the Westside, you can do the second best thing and get the sauce from your local grocery store, like Safeway, Walmart, Target, and Instacart.
Other restaurants that people in Yakima are demanding include:
1, YAKIMA WANTS A STANDALONE FISH & CHIPS RESTAURANT
The drive-thru Skipper's restaurant closed down years ago (although you can order some to-go at the quickie mart on S. 7th Ave & Yakima Ave), and we don't have an Ivar's in this town for some inexplicable reason, but we do have some good home cooking from a local family with their restaurant, Fish Bones Restaurant! (OMG, their food is good, I'm just saying.)
Open Tuesday thru Friday only, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
You have to call (509) 930-0708 to place your mobile order.
2. YAKIMA WANTS OUR FRICKIN' IHOP BACK!
The IHOP in Union Gap shut its doors eons ago but they kept the one in Ellensburg open. Thankfully, we do have Waffles Cafe (1510 N 1st St, Yakima)! They have limited hours for now.
Open Sunday thru Saturday, 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. only.
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