Rowley & Hawkins Fruit Farms is a family owned and operated business that is over 6 generations deep. They now have 3 sons and a daughter who are full time managers along with other family members who help and work on the farm. They grow a variety of fruits and vegetables but their main crop is tart cherries. They also grow several varieties of apples, sweet cherries, peaches, apricots, raspberries, blackberries, asparagus and some grapes, pears and plums.

Their busiest time of year is May through September with all the harvesting of several different crops happening. They have 10-15 year round employees that help with the orchards and during harvest they have friends and family come and help. During the peak of harvest they employee approx 160 people.

They say that fruit is in their blood and over the generations of sharing knowledge and the expansion of technology they have been able to improve their methods and expand on a better product for the customer. They have proven that a “family that works together, sticks together”. In 1981 the family left a successful family farm in Payson, Utah to move to Washington and pioneer the tart cherry industry. They currently operate 1000 acres centered in Basin City, WA. In 1984 the cherry processing line expanded and Northwest Tart Cherry Inc., a “sister” processing company for R&HFF was built to fulfill the tart cherry processing needs. They started selling fresh fruit at roadside stands and farmers markets and have now grown to have two labels Tasteatreat and FreshpicksWa brand, which includes two commercial store locations, a box-a-week delivery program, and a strong farmer’s market presence. The fruit stand in Moses Lake offers fresh fruit and vegetables and the Kennewick storefront Fresh Picks is open year round offering fruits, vegetables, smoothies and other fruit novelties.

You can also get fresh produce, fresh smoothies, and ciders at their store front location Fresh Picks, located at 8378 W Grandridge Blvd. Kennewick, WA 99336. Visit their websites freshpickswa.com, to order fruit locally for pickup or tasteatreat.com, to have fruit shipped anywhere is the US. Rowley and Hawkins Fruit Farm’s main goal is “to grow great fruit to grow great families.”

Mei-Ling Inn Chinese American Food is one of Connell’s favorite local family-owned and run restaurants in Connell. Owned by Vinai & Julie Nuntananusit, Mei Lings has been in business for 34 years. Vinai and an assistant cook; cook all the food and in addition to family members, they have 11 other employees who work at the restaurant.

Mei Lings is a great lunch spot as they offer a lunch buffet Monday-Friday from 11:00am-2:00pm for $7.75 plus tax.  Although they offer an extensive lunch and dinner menu, customer favorites include Siam Choi Mein, Almond Fried Chicken, Sweet & Sour Pork, and Fried Rice. Regardless what is ordered, every dish is delicious! Not only do they offer Chinese food but also have American food on the menu too. Dine-in or take-out options are available for both lunch and dinner.

The Nuntananusit family comes from Chinese descent but they don’t actually speak Chinese. Vinai moved to Connell in late 1983 from Thailand. Both he and Julie are graduates of Eastern Washington University. After marrying, Vinai and Julie raised their two daughters Maylinn and Jadenna in Connell along with opening and running the restaurant business. The name Mei-ling is very close to the Nuntananusit family as it is Julie’s middle name. They appreciate the support from the community for making their family business such a success. Mei Lings is located at 627 S Columbia Ave. They are open Monday-Friday from 11:00am to 7:30pm; closed Saturday and Sunday. To place an order or to reserve tables for larger groups call 234-0381.

Massage Therapy by Ana Pahua is a new business in Connell that just opened this past winter. We first got to meet Ana as a cottage business at last year’s November Wine & Brew.  Ana Pahua has been practicing massage for 3 years. Previously working in Othello, she had many clients from the Connell and surrounding areas that were driving an hour to receive massage therapy services so she decided to open her own office in Connell.  Ana offers deep tissue, relaxation, prenatal massage, cupping, hot stones, leg and foot massages as well as foot soaks. She plans on expanding and offering additional services in the future.

Ana has always enjoyed working with people. For five years, she worked as a front desk receptionist at a chiropractic office. She knew she wanted to continue to help people but to do so differently. She found massage therapy and knew that this is what she was looking for to achieve her goals. Massage therapy is more than just a relaxing back rub – in many cases it is alternative medical care without medicine.  Massage Therapy by Ana is open in Connell 4 days a week – Monday 10:00am-6:00pm, Wednesdays 9:00-5:00pm, Fridays 9:00-5:00pm and Saturdays 7:45 – 12:30pm. Check out her website at www.massagebook.com/Connell~Massage~MassageTherapyByAna. To make an appointment, you can stop by her office at 650 S. Columbia Ave, call 509-431-0603, or email her at massagetherapybyana9@gmail.com

Mid Columbia Libraries (MCL) first opened the Connell Branch in November 1965 after a group of citizens worked for many years to establish a permanent library in the community. In 2015 the Connell Branch celebrated its 50^th anniversary.

MCL has 12 branches that serve residents in Benton, Franklin and parts of Adams counties. Branch locations include: Basin City, Benton City, Connell, Kahlotus, Keewaydin Park, Kennewick, Merrills Corner, Othello, Pasco, Prosser, West Pasco, and West Richland. Through the MCL system, cardholders have access to more than 400,000 books, audiobooks, magazines, and videos including more than 50,000 downloadable eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines. Using the on-line system, customers can search the catalog and request items for pick up at their home branch. MCL has a floating collection…thanks to the daily courier service, materials are available to customers in any of the twelve branches in a timely manner.

The MCL digital collection is the largest in the state outside of the Seattle metro area. Not only do customers enjoy eBooks and eAudiobook for reading and listening on their devices, but they can also access digital resources such as the Chilton Library auto repair manual, Pronunciator language learning service, Procitizen U.S. citizenship test prep, Tri-City Herald archive and obituaries, and much more.

The Connell library provides free public Wi-fi accessible both inside and outside the building with no password. They have seven public computers that customers can use with two free prints daily. There is also a copy machine for public use for a nominal fee.

Connell offers weekly storytime for preschoolers to help prepare children with the social and developmental skills needed to enter kindergarten. Storytimes are held each Wednesday at 10 am. Elementary activities are held for school-age children as well. The annual Summer Reading Challenge is popular with all ages. Check the online calendar for more information.

There has been much discussion about expanding the library over the years. The Connell branch has been in the same building since 1995 and has outgrown the confined space. For more than just book materials, space is needed for public computers as well as a meeting room that could be used by the community. Over the years they have had to take out bookshelves to make room for people to come in and use the library and for events that are held. The discussion continues as to how this larger space could be acquired and funded. If you have any helpful ideas, stop by the library as they would love to hear them!

The Connell Branch is located downtown at 118 N. Columbia Avenue (next to the movie theatre). Information about the other local branches (Basin City, Kahlotus, and Merrills Corner) can be found on the website. To reserve/checkout/download items or for much more information about MCL, visit their extensive website at midcolumbialibraries.org. The Connell library is open daily Monday through Friday 2 to 7 pm and Saturdays 10 am to 4 pm. The branch phone number is (509) 234-4971

For over 79 years Big Bend Electric Coop has been supplying power to the rural areas of Franklin and Adams counties. Being a cooperative they are owned by those they serve – the community. They provide power for residential, commercial, agriculture and irrigation. They provide energy efficiency and energy saving tips that are available on their website as well as online bill pay and account management.

Big Bend give back to the community by offering college scholarships to high school seniors every year. Each scholarship is worth $500 a year for 4 years of continuing education. They also annually award 2 youth applicants to participate in a Washington DC tour in June and to attend the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Tour. This tour program supports the cooperative principle of education, training and information to the next generation youth. Youth will compete in Washington DC against other Washington State youth to be the youth representative of Washington at the annual NRECA meeting.  High school students are also able to job shadow Big Bend employees; Power Lineman, Accounting, Engineering and Member Services are the positions that are open for job shadow students to get more insight on the company and career day to day duties. Big Bend also created a non-profit group called Caring Neighbors – this group allows them to give back to other non-profit organizations in the community.  For more information on college scholarships, the youth tour, job shadowing and Caring Neighbors check the website  bbec.org

The main office is in Ritzville located at 1373 N Hwy 261 and they also have an Operations Center in Mesa. Big Bend has just 39 employees, relatively small for offering such important and widespread services. The mailing address is PO Box 348 Ritzville WA 99169.  The office is open Monday to Thursdays from 7:00am-5:30pm.  You can reach the office by calling 509-659-1700 or toll free at 866-844-2363.  And always remember CALL BEFORE YOU DIG – it will save a life, your property, your money and it’s the law. Simply dial 811.

Cecily Piovesan is an Independent Distributor for SeneGence International and the owner of FarmWife Pretty which she started in November of 2016. SeneGence International is a home-based business for woman that offers a flexible lifestyle while financially supporting for her family. This is the biggest reason apart from her love for the product that Cecily decided this would be the perfect fit for her, her 3 kids and husband.  She has a Facebook and Instagram that you can follow and watch her daily tutorial and style videos of not only the SeneGence Product but also many other things that she loves! She offers giveaways through her social media through posts – offering new products, her favorites or sneak peeks and sales. She offers home parties, one on one make-overs, or you can shop online from home at her website.

SeneGence International is a skincare and makeup company – the most popular product in their line is LipSense – the smudge proof, all day lasting lip color. However the line extends to all areas of makeup; foundations, eyeshadows, blush, highlighters/bronzers/powders, mascara, and an extensive skincare and anti-aging skincare line and body care, there are even products made for kids too.

With Farmwife Pretty Cecily is able to be a fulltime mom and be a working mom for her family. She has a team and is always looking to share with other woman on how this can work for them and growing her team. It might be for you if you love the product, are eager, friendly, want a little extra money or a fulltime -flexible job and are ready to put a little work into it - contact her for more information. Ultimately, Cecily wants to support other woman in the community – giving them options of how to financially support or earn extra money for their family outside to the traditional 9-5 worforce. She recognizes that nowadays it requires woman to work outside of the home so that they can help support raising a family. She wants to help return moms to their home and children by providing a new opportunity.

When Cecily first visited Connell back in 2010 she thought it was out in the middle of nowhere and didn’t understand how people could live so far from the big city (she is orginally from Pasco). Fast forward 8 years – after she married a local farmboy Doug Pioveson – they now live outside of Connell and raise their 3 kids. She loves this town, community and the friendships she has made and can’t imagine raising her family anywhere else.  Check out FarmWife Pretty on Facebook, Instagram, or her website senegence.com/farmwifepretty.  To schedule a home party or a free makeover contact Cecily Pioveson at 509-4302-6149 or email farmwifepretty@gmail.com.

Ed Poe Insurance Agency is owned by Bob Vanderbilt & Eric Mauseth. The business was originally started in 1948 by Ed Poe in the back office of the historic building that is currently occupied by the Cutting Edge.  Bob joined his father-in-law (Ed Poe) in 1970 and Eric Mauseth joined his father-in-law (Bob Vanderbilt) in 1993. Altogether, the 3 generations have run a successful business for 70 years....

Early on, Lauren Smith knew she wanted to own and operate her own business. Her passion for design led her to pursue interior design as a career and in 2013, after graduating from the University of Idaho with a degree in Interior Design, Lauren started 509 Design & Décor. Having been raised in this area, Lauren incorporated her roots in the community by coupling the area code with her passions, establishing the name 509 Design & Décor.

Being a cottage business, Lauren runs her business out of her home but ultimately her “work space” is in her client’s homes. Lauren has done residential remodels, new construction, professional offices, and commercial spaces. In 2014, she decorated a house in the Tri-Cities Parade of Homes and has assisted on 3 other parade homes. In 2014, Lauren added the component of weddings and events design/coordinating to her business. She enjoys all aspects of a wedding and is able to help the soon-to-be bride and groom in any and every way possible – from invitation design, decorations, planning, day of/on site coordinating with vendors. This helps to ensure that the bride and groom are relieved from the stress of the wedding day and are rather able to enjoy the special moments throughout the day while leaving the “to-do’s” for Lauren to manage and execute. In 2015 Lauren extended her business services to include rentals. She now offers a variety of decorations, linens, lighting, tables, chairs, and more.

Lauren’s business philosophy is “Every design, event, and wedding starts with a conversation and a vision”. To schedule a consultation visit, please contact Lauren at 509-989-9788 or at 509design.decor@gmail.com. You will get to sit down one on one with Lauren and go through the room/home/project and talk about the vision, goal and concept for your space. With this you will get a full design experience with sketches, design, and custom selected materials just for you.

Known to have “a little bit of everything”, The Old Brick Store in downtown Connell is family owned and operated by Jamie Kuehny along with her parents Dale & Cari Kuehny. All 8 family members, including her 5 siblings, help out in some way at the store. The Kuehny family took over operation of what was formerly known as “The Old Hardware Store” from John & Carol Lindner on March 1, 2016. Since the building was built in 1896, it has been many different businesses including a blacksmith shop, a bottle club during the prohibition era, a farm equipment dealership, and a hardware store that included selling fine furniture, appliances, home wares, and toys just to name a few. It even had a bowling alley in the basement at one time.

Jamie had always been interested in owning a store that incorporated her family, community, history, and the art of recycling. She was able to accomplish all that by establishing The Old Brick Store. The store offers antiques, collectibles, hardware, home décor, heirlooms, furniture, tools, farm supplies, apparel, and so much more. A lot
of their merchandise is acquired through purchasing abandoned storage units and estate sales. New pieces are constantly being added and the items usually have a quick turnover rate. If you don’t visit the store often, chances are, you are missing some good buys. If you have pieces you would like to sell, stop by and visit with them. Jamie loves adding new items to the store, especially pieces that have history behind them.

When asked about the success of the business, Jamie replied “We so appreciate all our customers. Many have become like family to us.” When you’re looking for something unique or want to find something you didn’t know you needed or wanted until you saw it, stop by. The Old Brick Store is located at 203 N. Columbia Ave. in downtown Connell. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturdays 10am - 6pm, Sundays 11am - 4pm, closed on Mondays. Be sure to check out their website www.theoldbrickstore.com and follow them on Facebook.

Sunset Theatre has been owned and operated by Dirk & Jeri Reinauer for the last 26 years. Originally built in 1952, the theatre has received many improvements under their ownership. The Reinauer family has updated the lobby, added a digital projection system, a new sound system, and screen curtains. The most recent update occurred in 2016 with the addition of 16 new reclining seats and 86 rockers in the center of the theatre. Newly released movies on the big screen can be seen on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights starting at 7:30pm. During the summer months, the hours are extended to include Monday and Tuesday evenings as well. The theatre makes a great venue to host large groups…just call to make arrangements. Attached to the theatre is the video rental business offering an extensive selection of DVD movies and games. The video rental store is open daily from 12:00pm to 8:00pm with the exception of opening at 3:00pm on Sundays and closed on Wednesdays.

So…to enjoy a newly released movie, very reasonable ticket and concession prices, GREAT tasting popcorn, and comfortable seating, all while supporting a local business, check out Sunset Theatre and Video located at 102 N.Columbia, in downtown Connell. To find out the current movie showing, a thorough listing of the DVD rentals, hours & prices, history background of the theatre and much more about their business, check out their awesome website at www.sunsettheatre.com