Hispanic Community in the Tri‑Cities

In 2019, Jose Chavez had a houseplant fixation, and it was out of control. “My house was a jungle,” says Chavez, who moved to the Tri-Cities from Yakima in 2017. “I was fantasizing about owning a plant shop to my husband, and afterwards he surprised me with a business license.”

That’s how The Little Plant Shop was born in 2021. The boutique specializes in decorative houseplants and custom installations. Originally located in Pasco, the business moved to a larger space in Richland two years later, where it’s thriving on the Parkway, Richland’s historic town center.

In 2019, Jose Chavez had a houseplant fixation, and it was out of control. “My house was a jungle,” says Chavez, who moved to the Tri-Cities from Yakima in 2017. “I was fantasizing about owning a plant shop to my husband, and afterwards he surprised me with a business license.”

“There has been incredible growth in Latino-owned businesses in the Tri-Cities,” says Brisa Guajardo, the President of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “They are creating economic growth and jobs, and are leaving a mark on the community.”

It’s been an incredible journey to arrive at this point. The Hispanic population was first recorded in the Tri-Cities area at the turn of the 19th century; however, starting in the early 1900s, agricultural job opportunities brought significant population growth: waves of immigration were in the 20th century, inspired by agricultural job opportunities. In the early 1900s, the reign of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz pushed many citizens to flee north due to dissent suppression tactics and the seizure of people’s land for private commercial agriculture. Vaqueros, Mexican cowhands, aided in the first northbound cattle drives from the American Southwest. Their impact echoes today in words like “bronco,” “corral,” “rodeo,” and “lariat.”

Later, during World War II, unprecedented agricultural demand and labor shortages plagued the U.S. As a result, millions of Mexicans were recruited through the Bracero Program, the largest guest worker program in U.S. history, which placed Mexicans in 24 states. Around 47,000 braceros came to the Pacific Northwest, and the Mexican American community in the Columbia River Basin grew dramatically.

After that, Hispanic immigrants continued to settle in the Tri-Cities, mostly from Mexico. Pasco became the beating heart of that community, with 57% of residents now identifying as Hispanic. Today, about 40% of Pasco’s Hispanic population is from Colima, a small state in Western Mexico, with whom Pasco shares a regional partnership through cultural and economic exchanges.

“My grandparents first came here in the bracero program,” says Blanche Barajas, the first Latina mayor of Pasco who served from 2022–24. “Latinos initially came here for agriculture and have stayed for generations, first helping farmers then owning land themselves. Now there are lots of Hispanic-owned small businesses: farmers, builders, developers, restaurant owners, engineers, shop owners. This is a hardworking, resilient community.”

As a boy Sergio Martinez, a co-owner of Martinez y Martinez vineyard and winery, worked in the fields when his family moved from Mexico to California. He dreamed of owning a vineyard. In 1981, Martinez and his wife Kristy planted their first vines in Horse Heaven Hills AVA in a prized area called Phinny Hill. As the first Hispanic-owned vineyard in Washington state, they released their initial vintages in 2008 and became successful Cabernet Sauvignon specialists with a winery location in Prosser.

In the heart of Richland, owners Oscar and Lonnie Suarez opened Novel Coffee in 2019 after moving to Tri-Cities from Othello, Wash., in 2016. Having survived the COVID 19 pandemic, they opened a new location by Howard Amon Park on the waterfront and became a favorite spot to grab coffee drinks, boba tea, and fancy toast, like strawberries and bananas on Nutella-slathered sourdough. They have a BYOV (bring your own vinyl record) policy, and dedicate their decor and drinks names (like The Typewriter) to the art of the novel.

Another coffee shop with a creative vibe is Cafe con Arte in downtown Pasco. This combined art gallery and cafe was launched by a financial investment from a high school principal and a Kickstarter campaign. Co-founder Saul Martinez is a visual artist, Dia de los Muertos scholarship director, and commissioner for the Pasco Arts and Culture Commission. The other co-founder, Alexia Estrada, helped start and direct the non-profit Semillero de Ideas, which supports farm workers to be leaders and innovators in the agriculture industry. Their message to the community: "You are deserving of spaces and much much more.”

Guajardo says, “Our businesses continue to exemplify vibrancy, resilience, and determination."

Nikki Torres is the first Latina state senator for the 15th Legislative District serving the Tri-Cities and has a reputation for being extremely productive, having sponsored 38 bills during her first two years.

"I know what it’s like to work hard. My parents came here from Mexico for agriculture jobs when I was three. I worked in the fields, too. Then I was a single mom with two girls,” says Torres, who also works as a strategic partnerships manager for Western Governors University. “My parents brought me here to have the American Dream, and I don’t want to disappoint.”