Home-cooked meals like mom, or grandma, made. All the buzz on a new Tri-Cities diner
Busy Bee Diner has opened in the former Just Joel’s spot near downtown Kennewick, where it is serving classic American diner food for breakfast and lunch.
Just Joel’s, the pie-for-breakfast joint, closed in December. Andrea and Jamie Vinson, who live nearby, were intrigued by the opportunity and reached out to the property owner about transforming it with their own version of a diner focused on home-cooked meals like mom, or grandma, made.
The Vinsons opened Busy Bee Diner at 1505 W. Kennewick Ave. in early March and celebrated the grand opening March 18.
Andrea, an Oregon State University graduate who works as an accountant for Ben Franklin Transit, runs the business side.
Jamie, a 30-year veteran of his family’s diners on the Oregon coast and in Corvallis, is on food duty.
Their message: Busy Bee is its own creation, even if it has some things in common with its predecessor, like its focus on breakfast and lunch, and its commitment to the community.
The couple didn’t know Just Joel’s owner Joel Watson, Andrea said.
“We just want to make it ours because it is ours,” she said.
Jamie Vinson grew up working in the family restaurants of Oregon, including the now-closed Beach Pancake and Dinner House in Rockaway Beach and various outposts in Tillamook and Lincoln City. He most recently ran a cafe in Corvallis with his siblings.
The couple moved to the Tri-Cities two years ago to be closer to Andrea’s family — and further from the rain.
Their home is three blocks from the 850-square-foot restaurant, which made it convenient. Their five children are grown, but a son with Down syndrome lives at home.
Andrea said they loved the intimate scale and are working to transform the space and menu to suit the bee theme. They downsized the kitchen sink to accommodate a dishwasher and are making other adjustments.
The menu includes “The Stinger,” an omelet packed with chorizo, jalapenos and pepper jack cheese.
Its “Queen Bee” breakfast comes with an English muffin, choice of meat, egg and hash browns of home fries. Worker Bees can choose a biscuit, meat and two eggs.
The lunch menu offers classic hot and cold sandwiches, including the “Busy Bee Delight,” featuring two chicken strips, bacon, ranch, lettuce, tomato, onions and cheese.
There is a veggie burger for non-meat eaters, salads, baskets, fish and chips and sides such as clam chowder on Fridays and homemade chili with cheese and onions.
Andrea Vinson said her husband’s most popular dishes are his homemade biscuits and gravy, corned beef hash and the green chili burrito recipe he learned from his father. It is “very family oriented,” she said.
Busy Bee is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday, and offers to-go orders.
Follow Busy Bee on Facebook.
