Explore business openings and closures in the South Sound

This list of curated articles highlights recent business openings and closings in the South Sound.

Just Poké plans to open a restaurant on Pac Ave in Tacoma, combining poke bowls with Wow Wow Lemonade offerings. A local pizza chain, The Rock Wood Fired Pizza, closed most of its locations due to economic struggles, maintaining only two locations.

Meanwhile, Hart Family Pharmacy launched in East Pierce County, offering unique services amidst wider pharmacy closures. Lone Star Donuts opened a third location at Town Square Port Orchard, offering 'Texas-style' doughnuts.

No image found

Doughnuts for sale at Lone Star Donuts, a pastry shop that sells big “Texas-style” doughnuts and other treats at their locations in Silverdale and Port Orchard, Wash.

NO. 1: PASTRY SHOP BRINGS ‘TEXAS-STYLE’ DOUGHNUTS TO SHOPPING MALL NORTH OF GIG HARBOR

Lone Star Donuts recently opened their third location at the Town Square Port Orchard shopping mall, bringing big “Texas-style” doughnuts to more customers north of Gig Harbor. | Published October 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Julia Park

No image found

The Rock Wood Fired pizza’s Puyallup location at 4301 South Meridian on Oct. 22, 2025. The restaurant posted a sign on its doors announcing that the location is closed.

NO. 2: LOCAL PIZZA CHAIN CLOSES RESTAURANTS, INCLUDING IN TACOMA AND PUYALLUP

A local pizza chain has closed most of its locations for good. | Published October 22, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund

No image found

NO. 3: POPULAR PIERCE COUNTY WHISKEY DISTILLERY TO CLOSE ALL OF ITS TASTING ROOMS

Heritage Distilling Co. | Published October 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Julia Park

No image found

Just Poké, a Seattle-based chain, is opening a Tacoma restaurant at 1716 Pacific Ave., on the University of Washington-Tacoma campus. It will double as a Wow Wow Lemonade. By Courtesy

NO. 4: POKE COMING BACK TO PAC AVE: SEATTLE-BASED CHAIN OPENING TACOMA RESTAURANT

Downtown Tacoma soon will have a poke place, a year after Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max vacated its storefront on Pac Ave. | Published October 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kristine Sherred

Darren Hart, left, owner and pharmacist of Hart Family Pharmacy, stands with Lanette Wilkins, a technician at the pharmacy, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Graham, Wash. By Liesbeth Powers

NO. 5: INDEPENDENT PHARMACY NOW OPEN IN EAST PIERCE COUNTY TOUTS A ‘BETTER WAY’

With the recent news of pharmacy closures as a result of Rite Aid’s bankruptcy, a local independent pharmacist is going against the grain. | Published October 29, 2025 | Read Full Story by Debbie Cockrell

A bottle of Heritage Distilling Company’s first line of single-barrel whiskey that was released on October 29, 2022, sits on a counter at Heritage Distilling Co. in Gig Harbor, Wash. on Oct. 26, 2022. The bottlings from these barrels will range in age from about four years to nine and the initial release carries four grains grown within the state’s borders. By Cheyenne Boone

NO. 6: POPULAR PIERCE COUNTY DISTILLERY CLOSED TASTING ROOMS. IS CRYPTO THE REASON?

Did Heritage Distilling Co.’s integration of cryptocurrency into their business model influence their decision to close their tasting rooms? | Published November 10, 2025 | Read Full Story by Julia Park

No image found

Bambu Tacoma joined the Lincoln District in 2017 and has since showered the neighborhood with chè, boba and fun-flavored waffles. By Kristine Sherred

NO. 7: ‘NOT AN EASY DECISION.’ LINCOLN DISTRICT’S ONLY DEDICATED DESSERT SHOP TO CLOSE

Bambu, a Vietnamese dessert cafe in the Lincoln District since 2017, will permanently close just before Thanksgiving, the owners announced this week. | Published November 2, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kristine Sherred

Salted Rim Bar & Kitchen opened Oct. 29, 2025 at University Place Town Center near Tacoma, Wash. By Courtesy

NO. 8: NEW BAR OPENS IN UP WITH ASIAN-INSPIRED DISHES, COCKTAILS AND HOMEMADE DESSERTS

The Village at Chambers Bay in University Place welcomed another new business this fall. | Published November 10, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kristine Sherred

Chantel Jackson, known as The World’s Lunch Lady and The Singing Chef, opened her Thyme Well Spent lunch cafe at 5608 S. Park Ave. in her hometown of Tacoma, Wash., in October 2025. The menu offers three soups daily, sandwiches, salads (here, the chicken-and-waffle with maple vinaigrette), homemade desserts and iced tea coolers. By Kristine Sherred

NO. 9: TACOMA’S ‘LUNCH LADY’ AND SINGING CHEF OPENS CAFE WITH SOUP, SALAD, SANDWICHES

Tacoma native Chantel Jackson has attracted an audience nearly 75,000 strong on TikTok and another 20,000 on Instagram, where her moniker is The Lunch Lady. | Published November 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kristine Sherred

A view of the store that is being built on McMillin Farm, a 40-acre farm in Puyallup, Wash. that will sell produce grown on the farm to the community, on Saturday, March 12, 2022. By Cheyenne Boone

NO. 10: WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE MCMILLIN FARM & BREWHOUSE? HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW

The team behind a popular Puyallup produce stand is moving to greener pastures. | Published November 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund

Albert Frank poses for a portrait in the lot he owns at 6th Ave. and Stevens St. that he has been working to turn into a hub for food trucks, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Tacoma, Wash. By Brian Hayes

NO. 11: WHY DOESN’T TACOMA HAVE FOOD PODS? NEW ‘CORRAL’ WANTS TO CHANGE THE GAME

Every few months on local Reddit forums, in the comment sections of Instagram posts, and at kitchen tables around town (or so I imagine), an enterprising Tacoman asks, “Why aren’t there food pods here?” The answer is a frustrating mix of bureaucratic red tape, city-by-city and county-by-county codes, health department regulations and the challenges every small food business faces, from managing volatile and seemingly ever-increasing costs to finding and keeping customers. | Published November 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kristine Sherred

Lightcurve’s new retail location, 1135 Broadway in downtown Tacoma, displays its otter mascot on the window. The retail space is next door to the company’s new headquarters at the Tacoma Centre.

NO. 12: LOCAL INTERNET PROVIDER OPENS HEADQUARTERS, RETAIL SHOP IN DOWNTOWN TACOMA

The telecommunications company formerly known as Rainier Connect has a new headquarters and retail site for customers in Tacoma. | Published November 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Debbie Cockrell

A screenshot Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, of Purelight Power’s website. The solar installation firm is ending operations in Washington state, according to a recent WARN filing.

NO. 13: FLOORING VENDOR, SOLAR FIRM ARE THE LATEST TO ANNOUNCE LAYOFFS IN WA STATE

Two area employers have filed layoff notices with the state of Washington affecting local workers. | Published November 16, 2025 | Read Full Story by Debbie Cockrell

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.