Pao’s Donuts and Arista set reopening dates

Two plumbing projects are wrapping up at Arista, the downtown Puyallup pasta restaurant, and Pao’s Donuts & Coffee Shop in the Narrows neighborhood.

Both expect to reopen next week.

ARISTA

If all goes as planned, Ben Herreid will reopen Arista, the downtown Puyallup handmade pasta restaurant, on Tuesday. The planned closure of the restaurant to fix a damaged floor drain took longer than anticipated, Herreid said.

When workers opened the restaurant’s floor to fix the drain, they found more extensive damage than expected. As of now, the only thing left to do is paint.

When the restaurant reopens, there will be a few changes. Lunch service will no longer be offered and Herreid is using that time on a new endeavor — as a farmer. He’s leased a six-acre site in the Puyallup valley where he’ll grow the San Marzano variety of tomatoes, fresh herbs and other produce.

His hope is to grow all of the restaurant’s produce, as well as yield extra produce that can be sold at farmers markets.

The restaurant will continue to serve dinner Tuesdays-Saturdays.

On March 13, Arista will host a farm-to-table dinner to help pay for irrigation for the farm. The $60 meal includes five courses and Washington state wines. Find more details here.

PAO’S DONUTS

Planned plumbing repairs at Pao’s Donuts and Coffee Shop are concluding. The Tacoma Narrows neighborhood bakery closed Feb. 22 for what owner Pao Lo hoped was going to be a short week of repairs. It wound up taking a bit longer than Lo expected, but the bakery will reopen on Monday.

The cash-only bakery is an anchor in that neighborhood and a popular destination for doughnuts.

Sue Kidd: 253-597-8270, @tntdiner

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 7:21 AM with the headline "Pao’s Donuts and Arista set reopening dates."