A couple with years of experience working at some of the Tri-Cities’ most popular restaurants soon will be heading up their own in Richland.

Maigh and Will Willingham are kickstarting Public House 255, an eatery focused on Pacific Northwest food with a southern twist. They expect to open in mid-December.

Maigh Willingham is originally from South Carolina, and Will Willingham’s family has southern roots as well.

“We’re really just trying to keep everything simple … we learned that you don’t have to have 50 ingredients to make it really delicious,” Maigh Willingham said. 

Their menu is still evolving, but they talked about southern fare like deep fried grits and tots, in addition to pizzas, sandwiches and salads.

The new restaurant will move into the building once home to Fat Olives at 255 Williams Blvd. Its last day in there was Oct. 26 after nearly 15 years.

The building has been sold to a new owner, who will be leasing it to the Willinghams.

Experience in food industry

The pair have worked in the hospitality industry for years, and they originally met at Red Robin in their 20s. 

Will Willingham has been a general manager and chef at various times at Fiction @ J. Bookwalter, Fable Craft Bar, Wine Saloon & Food Joint, Cousins Restaurant and the Lodge at Columbia Point, and he currently works at Cedars at Pier One in Kennewick.

Both Will and Maigh Willingham have worked at Ice Harbor as well as Twigs, where Maigh Willingham is currently a manager. 

Ready to go out on their own

They even gave starting their own restaurant a shot in 2011, but they ended up having to “cut the loss and learn from it,” Maigh Willingham said. 

“We’ve done corporate, we’ve done local, we’ve done hotel and catering and food truck for two years,” she said. 

While it will be hard for the Willinghams to leave their current jobs, their employers have been supportive of the venture. 

“It’s kind of our turn to make our footprint in the Tri-Cities,” Will Willingham said. 

Their new restaurant endeavor, Public House 255, is still in its early phases, but is set to open around mid-December, the couple said. 

They’d been looking for a location for a while, and even thought about the Hansen Park suite now occupied by The Peacock. It was important to find the right one: “We know from when we had our original restaurant location is key,” Maigh Willingham said.

The building at 255 Williams Blvd. was originally listed at over $1 million, but when the price dropped, a real estate friend of the Willinghams bought the building with the intent of leasing it to them. 

“We were very fortunate,” Will Willingham said. 

Property records show Carla and Gregory Markel’s Circle Around LLC bought it for $794,500 on Oct. 21.

The couple is currently working on necessary licensing, including liquor permits, which will probably be the longest part of getting set up, they said.

The space itself is just about ready to go: the property purchase included kitchenware, tables and chairs, Will Willingham said. 

“We’re just filling in the blanks and getting ready to go,” he said. 

The Willinghams aim to begin hiring staff just after Thanksgiving and are looking for about 25 people to start. 

They’ll also take it easy on the restaurant’s hours in the beginning. They anticipate being closed on Sundays and not open too late in the evenings at first. 

Capturing the dinner crowd

While Public House 255 will offer cocktails and local beer and wine, it’s not the restaurant’s main focus. They’re aiming to capture the dinner crowd, Maigh Willingham said.

The Willinghams want to focus on good service and giving back. Maigh Willingham recalled the community they found among other food trucks when they ran the Non-Fiction food truck for two years. 

They hope to include items stocked from local businesses, like pasta from Grace Kitchen and drinks from Solar Spirits Distillery and Bombing Range Brewing Company. 

Fat Olives was known for its gluten-free options, and that’s something that the Willinghams want to try to provide as well. 

In the future, they might expand to include catering options, but, “right now our biggest focus is this little, this new baby,” Maigh Willingham said. “… Give it everything we’ve got. We’ve learned a lot, so we’re ready.”