The home of Pasco’s longest and most continuous run restaurant, now serves dishes from another continent.
Once cooked at 1520 N. Fourth Ave., Chinese food delves into loaded Carne Asada (Lime Marined Steak) Fries, Birria (cooked goat or beef), Pollo Loco (Fire-Greed Chichle), and of course, Churros, a top-top top-top-top-top-top-top-top-top-cloth sincon, like Cinnamon Encross.
Javi’s Chicken and Churros opened in November 2024. Sunnyside owners Francisco and Laura Gonzalez run two other restaurants under the same name, Grandview and Sunnyside.
They ordered the business after his eldest son, Javi, who was about four years old when it opened.
South of the border rate
The couple says they are excited to offer Pasco Javi the opportunity to offer a larger menu of food and drinks.
Gonzalez of Francisco said Javi’s menu was the arrival of many unique local Mexican cuisine, but it focuses on food from the border town where his family lived in Southern California.
“In border towns, you get people who will migrate there from every corner of Mexico, so you find everything there,” he said.
Francisco’s Gonzalez recalls that when his family moved to Washington eight years ago, he noticed that there wasn’t much on the local menu, like villias and flame-covered chickens.
He said he focuses on Mexican local restaurants in Carnitas, Chicharon and other local styles.
His parents are from Jalisco and are said to be derived from Virria, so with the help of his mother he made the centre of some headline dishes.
“Our signature dish is our Virria Taco: Draditas,” he said. According to Javi’s menu, Doraditas is a crunchy taco with billia meat topped with melted cheese, onion, cilantro and guacamole.
“We also sell prime cuts (seafood) and prime cuts of meats such as Fajita, Molkates and Steak, Ribeye and New York cuts,” he said.
Everything is cooked fresh every day. “Rice, beans, all the meat… there’s a lot of cooking to order. I’ve noticed from many restaurants that I cook certain items for a week, freeze and reheat, but I don’t do that here.”
Opportunities to grow
Like many businesses that have begun in the past few years, Javi’s critical moment has been the Covid-19 pandemic, which has happened for over a year since it opened.
“After Covid Hit, we started to get even better (business). Francisco’s Gonzalez added that he and his wife could pursue a second location in Sunnyside, where he and his wife resemble Pasco restaurants and head towards a nightlife featuring bars, lounges, pool tables, darts and more.
“When we were a month away from the opening, they had a massive layoff for my job, so it came at the perfect time. Then, a week after opening the (second) restaurant, my wife was so busy that she had to quit her job as a school teacher,” he said.
His wife is now a stay-at-home mother, an ongoing partner in the business, several of the family including both parents, Pasco’s location, his sister, parents who manage several cousins, and his siblings.
Riding on success and revenue from the first two businesses, Tri-Cities was next in view of the large Latinx community:
Build Updates
The owners of the previous restaurant building were proud to maintain the retro restaurant look, but there was a lot of things that needed to be updated under the decorations.
In April 2022, the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business announced the retirement of longtime Chinese Gardens owners Ted and Amy Wong.
According to property records, Wons sold the building for sale soon after, selling it to Gonzalez for $700,000 in 2023.
Francisco’s Gonzalez said they invested more than $200,000 in renovations Replace the HVAC system, fumigation and new hard floors, including the entire 8,052 square feet of facility, new bar and kitchen equipment, re-upholstered seats, new lighting, interior and exterior representation, all new decorations.
“We’re not finished yet,” he pointed out.
One of the novelty diners may be recognized from the restaurant’s previous life. A collection of 325 vintage gym beam whiskey decanters. But Francisco’s Gonzalez probably won’t continue to support decorations that celebrate the restaurant and its culinary culture.
Future plans
Francisco Gonzalez looks forward to hosting more events at the new Pasco location, including DJ nights, live music, karaoke and “speak easy” themed nights, so that Sunnyside Javi can do it.
However, he is against the Codeload block with the city of Pasco. This is because other downtown businesses have encountered it as well.
He said the biggest one “want to remodel the sprinkler system on the old building… it costs USD 60,000,” Francisco Gonzalez.
He described Pasco building codes as extremely strict in terms of “thinking about selling a place,” and moved elsewhere in Tri City.
For now, he’s sticking it out.
“We’re here to serve our community,” he said. “We are grateful for all our customers and communities who support us and are busy.”
In just a few weeks, they open a Jabi chicken and churro food truck that is permanently parked at Yakima’s Single Hill Brewery.
“We do the more basic menu, Villia, Tacos, but there are also really good vegetarian options out there,” Francisco Gonzalez said.
Javi’s also offers catering and online ordering.
Leave a legacy
Looking back on the busy past seven years, he and Laura are proud to have a Jabi place to hand over each of their children.
With three restaurants and a food truck under the belt, you may wonder where you are planning on going next, but Francis Gonzalez said: I want to be able to dedicate more time to them while they are young. ”
Opening hours are Tuesday to Thursday from 10am to 10pm, Friday to Sunday from 10am to 1am, and Mondays.
Javi’s Chicken and Churros: 1520 N. Fourth Ave., Pasco, 626-716-0813, javischickenchurros.com.
