Interior designers parlay food truck success into Richland delicatessen

By Robin Wojtanik for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Roberta Chalaris-Davis and Marina de Albuquerque have an eye for design, and they’ve branched out from interior spaces to designing artisanal charcuterie boards and home décor at a storefront in Richland’s Parkway.

Set to open in June, just in time for the return of the Richland Farmers Market, ROMA House will bring unique delicatessen offerings, boutique wines, gourmet groceries and fine gifts to the south end of the walkable Richland retail district.

“I look at food as another extension of art. It’s great taste, great combinations and some fun,” said Chalaris-Davis during a tour of 617 The Parkway, where construction is going at a quick clip to finish the “home entertainer’s store” in time for summer. ROMA House is located in the former storefront of Ariel Gourmet & Gifts, which closed in 2021, and Hotoveli Boutique, which recently moved into the smaller space next door.

“Food has people interacting, and that’s one of my favorite things: people, food and wine – not necessarily in that order,” she joked.

Making it very clear this is “not a restaurant,” the delicatessen will offer charcuterie boards to go or to share at a table, with seating offered for just 12. Local beer and wine will be on tap, and down the road, a meeting and event space is planned for ROMA House for outside bookings or demonstra- tion classes.

The women will feature a wall of appetizer boards at a variety of price points that can be bought alone, or filled.

Gourmet groceries, like olive oil, flavored vinegar and French candies, plus tablescapes and other interior décor, also will be for sale, with all food offered for tasting available to take home, including cheese by the quarter pound.

“If you like an olive you try, you can buy them to take home,” Chalaris-Davis said. “Or if you like the candles and linens, you can whip up a table setting.”

Their pièce de résistance may be a decorative corner spot, ideal for snapping selfies for social media – and a clever way to promote the store.

Roberta + Marina = ROMA

The women worked together for a custom homebuilder in the area before they decided to go out on their own a few years back, combining the first letters of their first names to call their ventures ROMA Visionaries.

“It’s really kind of cute when people figure out, ‘Oh it’s your names,’ ” ChalarisDavis laughed.

At the start of 2020, they decided on their next visionary project, a food truck, drawing on Chalaris-Davis’ prior experience owning a catering company.

“I remember taking a friend to a winery for her birthday, and when I called ahead, the only food offered for purchase was hot dogs or tacos, so I asked if I could bring snacks and desserts for our table, and they said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ ”

Chalaris-Davis recalled setting out a spread so inviting that other winery customers kept coming to the table asking where to find food like that.

“We were laughing cause it’s like, ‘We’re the VIP table,’ but it’s what I’ve always done, and it’s what Marina has always done,” she said.

And with that, an idea was born, and the women started pursuing the purchase of a trailer to make appearances at local wineries, debuting ROMA Charcuterie in fall 2021.

Despite getting going during the pandemic, the food truck took off and the designers-turned-food-artists quickly had bookings throughout the region, including in Walla Walla and Cle Elum.

Wineries would request they set up on weekends, say for fall crush or spring bar-

She took inspiration – and the name of her studio – from a favorite quote from “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll: “This is my dream. I’ll decide where it goes.” rel, to offer meats and cheeses for purchase by winery customers. Suncadia brought the trailer to its resort at a set cost for its guests to sample at a hosted event.

“Wonderland is the concept of making things what you want them to be, being curious, trying something different and being yourself,” she said.

Since opening the studio, Ross said that Wonderland has trained about 200 students, or “Wonderland Babes,” as she calls them, through Pole 101. The studio enrolls about 50 members.

“The grazing stations have been so popular at the holidays, but we don’t just go in and drop food on a table,” Chalaris-Davis said. “We bring the whole setup. We had a Halloween grazing station with skeleton hands, so whatever your theme is, and because we’re designers, we can do it.”

Following success

Since ROMA Charcuterie has been so successful, the women were ready to take the next leap.

“We know there’s sophistication here, and we want to be part of it,” Chalaris-Davis said. “We want to be part of the revitalization of this area.”

She grew up in Southern California and de Albuquerque hails from Brazil. “We’ve

Most classes are booked, with waitlists for some classes.

Shame-free classes

The studio offers pole dance classes from beginner to advanced levels, plus floor flow, which offers instruction on “exotic floor work,” chair and lap dancing, and aerial arts classes. The studio is for those 18 and older.

“Our classes are very fun. They’re very laid back. We don’t do diet culture,” Ross said. “We do not do shame. We don’t set goals in terms of weight but in terms of getting a move. We celebrate our bodies for what they can do, rather than what they seen bigger cities and watched them evolve, and we see that happening here.” look like.”

While several charcuterie-focused businesses have opened locally in recent years, the women remain confident there’s room for everybody in the market.

They plan to focus on imported offerings you can’t find elsewhere.

“The design side comes easy to us, making things beautiful; it’s the sourcing we’re working on,” said Chalaris-Davis, who just returned from a trip to Italy focused on finding new culinary delights that could be routinely shipped to the Tri-Cities.

They expect people to stop by ROMA House during their lunch hour, for a nibble before a Richland Players performance, or maybe to share a cheese board prior to heading to dinner at nearby Moniker.

They plan to have a range of unique offerings, similar to a paid wine tasting, with a price point for two people between $30$35.

Ross said students can expect to spend three to seven months training before completing some of the more advanced moves. Some members of the gym travel to the west side to compete in Pole Sport Organization competitions.

“Everyone says don’t expect to make a profit the first year,” Ross said. “I’m saying, ‘Hold my smoothie.’ It takes a lot of combining your mind and body. Realizing they can do things that are really hard. It’s empowering. We can do hard things. We repeat that a lot.”

While women are the primary customers, Wonderland welcomes men and all

“We hope people will go outside their comfort zone. We want them to try patés, different olives and Spanish cheeses,” Chalaris-Davis said. “We’re foodies; we just love pairing things and so we want to bring something different in a space that people feel good about coming to.” members of the LGBTQ+ community. Customer privacy also is important. The studio has floor-to-ceiling window coverings and prohibits recordings or photos without dancer consent.

The women plan to continue with ROMA Design Services serving residential and commercial clients, working with custom homebuilders and on remodels. They once styled a large wedding.

At the start, they plan to operate ROMA House themselves, but their future vision depends on who you talk to. “Marina thinks nobody for six months, and I think we’ll need two people in six weeks,” said Chalaris-Davis.

They’ve also found a natural fit in hosting charcuterie design classes, with plans these could one day be held within ROMA House when it’s cost effective to build out the remaining storage space.

Alcohol or drugs are prohibited at the studio, even at private events. Drop-in classes start at $29, while memberships start at $99. Class packs, private dance lessons and party/event packages are also available.

Search Wonderland Pole and Dance: 1823 George Washington Way, Richland; 509420-4869; wonderlandpoledance.com.

“We truly love people,” Chalaris-Davis said. “And that is what this is about. It’s about bringing something new to the people and teaching. And this will be a learning experience for anyone just coming in.”

“Don’t be afraid,” de Albuquerque added. “I want people to come in and feel comfortable, not feeling timid. We want to welcome everybody, and, honestly, even if you don’t want to buy something, just come in and see us and see what we’re doing. Taste a piece of cheese.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for ROMA House is planned for Friday, June 9, but the shop owners hope to open their doors prior to that.

Tentative hours to start will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Search ROMA House: 617 The Parkway, Richland; romahouse.net; @romacharcuterie

NETWORKING uAPPOINTMENTS

• The Pasco City Council appointed interim city manager Adam Lincoln as city manager on April 17. Lincoln was appointed interim city manager in October following the retirement of former City Manager Dave Zabell. Lincoln is responsible for implementing the city council’s vision and policies, managing daily operations, overseeing the city’s financial health, and fostering a positive working environment for the city’s employees. He also will serve as the primary liaison between the city council, staff and the community. Before coming to Pasco in 2020 as deputy city manager, Lincoln was the city of Pullman’s city administrator. Before Pullman, he was the assistant to the city manager for the city of Lakewood. For over a decade, Lincoln has worked at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Lincoln is active within the city management profession and belongs to several municipal management organizations. He earned his master’s in public administration from the University of Washington Evans School of Governance and Public Policy and his bachelor’s from Western Washington University.

• Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Pe- ter Rieke of Pasco to the state Building Code Council.

• Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Michael Fong to serve as director of the Washington State Department of Commerce, starting May 8. He replaces Lisa Brown, who left the department earlier this year after leading the agency for four years. Fong served as the regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s operations in the Pacific Northwest. President Joe Biden appointed him to this position in January 2022. In this role, he oversaw the delivery of programs aimed at providing small business owners emergency pandemic relief funding, access to capital, business development counseling and government contracting opportunities. Fong has more than two decades of experience in the public sector at the city, county and national level. Prior to his appointment with the SBA, he held leadership roles in Seattle, King County and Snohomish County. He also served as a senior deputy mayor for the city of Seattle from 201721. The Spokane native received his bachelor’s in political science from the University of Washington. He speaks Cantonese fluently.

uRETIREMENTS

• Two city of Pasco leaders are retiring from decades of public service.

Fire Chief Bob Gear retires May 31. He started in the fire service in September 1974, attending the fire program at Bates Vocational Technical in Tacoma. Then in 1976, he was hired by King County Fire District 43 in Maple Valley. In 1984, Gear was hired as chief of Benton Fire District 1 and was there until becoming the Pasco fire chief in January 2009. Besides serving the Tri-Cities community, Gear has worked extensively with state and federal wildland agencies responding to many large fires throughout Washington and the western United States. He also assisted the New York Fire Department after 9/11 and NASA on the Columbia space shuttle recovery. Gear was recognized as the Washington Fire Chief of the Year in 2018.

Community & Economic Development Director Rick White retired April 30. He has a community planning history with more than 35 years of experience. A graduate of Eastern Washington University, White worked at Spokane County Planning, and city of Kennewick. He was the community and economic development director for the city of Pasco for 14 years. White had a special interest in community economic development, land use and the provision of public infrastructure that enables commercial and industrial growth.

uAWARDS & HONORS

• The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, better known as the Hanford vit plant, recently recognized a significant team achievement when the last of its eight shift operations managers finished a rigorous qualifications process. The managers are: Nic Callihan, Mat Davis, Coley Colwell, Ron Kielbasa, Matt Bartley, John Zoulek, Jake Brumfield and Kameron Sanders. The training included systems and safety classes, drills and many other related qualifications, such as serving as the building director during an emergency. The shift operations managers also demonstrated knowledge of safe plant operations to lead shift supervisors and technicians during the qualification process, which can take up to 18 months.

• Energy Northwest received two first-place safety awards for exceptional performance in 2022. The American Public Power Association and Northwest Public Power Association both recognized Energy Northwest for its safety record. This is the seventh time that it has received the first-place award from NWPPA, and the 13th it has received the APPA award.

• Lourdes Health’s Jessica Leon, a registered nurse in the Lourdes Emergency Department, has been named as a recipient of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Lourdes Health. She was nominated by a Lourdes nurse on the medical surgical unit who noticed how she had cared for a dying patient, as well as helping the family to understand what was happening. They noted her ability to provide insightful information to the patient and family, without putting her own emotions into play. The DAISY Award is an international program to recognize clinical excellence and compassionate care.

• The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership announced the 2021 Downtown Award recipients during an awards banquet held at the Clover Island Inn on April 12. This was the first in-person ceremony to recognize outstanding business leaders and volunteers who exemplify excellence and dedication to downtown since 2019. Award winners were:

• Phase 2 Electric, Ralph and Jo Benton Downtown Volunteer of the Year.

• Kennewick Red Apple Market, Downtown Kennewick Revitalization of the Year.

• Rise & Shine Bake Shop, Downtown Kennewick Business of the Year.

• Travis and Laura Jordan, Ken Silliman Kennewick Downtowner of the Year. Award.

• Matt Riesenweber of Cornerstone Wealth Strategies in Kennewick was recently ranked No. 7 in Washington in Forbes’ 2023 Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list. According to Forbes, the annual ranking spotlights the nation’s top-performing advisors, evaluated based on criteria that includes industry experience, client retention and assets under management.

• Chukar Cherries’ organic rainier cherries recently earned a Good Food Award in the snacks category from the Good Food Foundation. The cherries have been a top seller since Chukar launched their certified organic product line in 2013. Each year, judges evaluate over 2,000 entries via blind tasting.

• Focal Point Marketing in Kennewick won two gold and two silver ADDY awards, including best of show, at the region’s American Advertising Awards, an inaugural competition put on by the TriCities chapter of the American Advertising Federation. All of the winning entries by their team were work completed for Destination Pediatric Dentistry, an Austin, Texas-based pediatric dental office, which included logo/branding, website design, mascot illustration and design of office travel posters.

• Brooke Myrland, workforce and education manager at the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, has been selected as one of 18 chamber professionals to participate in a six-month fellowship program on economic mobility facilitated by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. The Fellowship for Economic Mobility is an immersive program that provides chamber professionals education and tools to work within workforce ecosystems and help to remove barriers to access living wage jobs.

• The Pasco-Kennewick Rotary Club annually honors a police officer from the Pasco and Kennewick police departments. The John Goldsberry Award recipients are selected by their respective chiefs for exceptional service. Goldsberry, a former Tri-Citian of the Year and member of PK Rotary, was a strong supporter of law enforcement throughout the Tri-Cities. Each recipient receives $1,000, of which $500 is donated to the charity of the officer’s choice. The officers receive a plaque, and their names are added to the department’s master plaque.

Pasco police Chief Ken Roske recognized Officer Tony Haworth for his exceptional performance as a training officer, firearms instructor and WSU special project manager. He donated $500 to The Fallen Outdoors.

Kennewick police Chief Chris Guerrero, a member of PK Rotary, nominated Detective Kris Safranek, a lateral from the Seattle Police Department, who rapidly established himself as detective-qualified within months of joining the force. He donated $500 to Grace Kitchen.

• Gregory Hansen has been promoted to chief credit officer at Numerica Credit Union. He will oversee the credit union’s lending, credit and collections functions. Hansen brings more than 35 years of experience in the financial industry. He has been with Numerica since 2010, most recently serving as Numerica’s executive vice president of credit administration. He is a certified chief executive through CUES, a designation designed for top credit union leaders. He graduated with a business degree from Western Washington University.

• Neilan McPartland has been promoted as Numerica Credit Union’s vice president of retail experience. He will prioritize deepening member relationships while leading the Central Washington retail teams. McPartland has been with Numerica for 10 years. He previously served as assistant vice president of retail experience.

• Gesa Credit Union promoted Nathaniel Prior to vice president of branches and Joan Wacker to vice president of collections and loan servicing.

Prior, who lives in the Spokane region, will be responsible for leading Gesa’s branch strategy, the branch member experience and implementing organizational strategy. Wacker will oversee all collections and loan servicing activities for Gesa’s loan portfolio, including consumer and real estate to ensure consistent, effective and timely service to our membership. She brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, 14 of which have been with Gesa. A Spokane Valley native, Wacker has spent the last 20 years in the Tri-Cities, primarily working in financial services. In 2009, she joined Gesa as the mortgage servicing liaison, and since then, has worked in various management roles overseeing the loan servicing, consumer lending and the collections departments.

uTRANSITIONS

• Washington Policy Center has hired Chris Corry, who recently served as state representative for the 14th Legislative District, as the new director for WPC’s Center for Government Reform. His first day was May 1. Corry has more than 18 years of experience in the insurance industry and risk management. As a state representative, he represented west Yakima County and all of Klickitat County. In his community he serves on a number of boards including Crime Stoppers of Yakima County, Central Washington State Fair Board and the Yakima Salvation Army Advisory Board. He replaces longtime director Jason Mercier, who accepted a job as the vice president and director of research at the Idaho-based think tank Mountain States Policy Center. He starts July 1.

Mercier directed WPC’s Center for Government Reform for nearly two decades and is known as a state budget analysis and tax expert.

Mercier worked for both the Washington Policy Center and the Freedom Foundation and is a fellow with the national Better Cities Project. He is also a member of the State Tax Advisory Board for the Tax Foundation. In 2008, he worked with lawmakers in Washington state to create the state’s renowned budget transparency website at fiscal.wa.gov. Mountain States concentrates its work in Idaho, Eastern Washington, Montana and Wyoming – one of the first organizations of its kind to cover multiple states.

• Lifepoint Health has selected David Elgarico as the new chief executive officer at Trios Health in Kennewick, effective May 15. He also will assume the role of market president for Lifepoint’s Trios & Lourdes Health market, in which he will have operational oversight of Lourdes Health in Pasco. Elgarico replaces Jeff Bourgeois, who has served as interim CEO and market president since November. Elgarico comes to Trios and Lourdes with nearly 20 years of health care administration experience, most recently with Tenet Healthcare, where he has served as CEO for MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham and Natick, Massachusetts. Additional organizations he has led include McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon, Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California, and Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen, Texas. His career includes leadership of multiple service line expansions, capital construction projects, patient satisfaction initiatives and physician engagement activities. He earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education from College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, and a master’s in health administration from Medical University of South Carolina, also in Charleston. He began his career in health care as an administrative resident for HCA in the Trident Health System in Charleston. He and his wife, Kim, enjoy spending their spare time cheering on their daughter, Giana, in volleyball and son, Noah, in basketball and tennis.

• Benton REA hired Ryan J. Redmond as its new chief executive officer. Redmond brings more than 15 years of experience in the utility industry and has been in leadership roles for over 20 years. He has worked for Puget Sound Energy, Bonneville Power Administration and most recently was the chief resources officer at Peninsula Light Company in Gig Harbor. He earned a bachelor’s in political science from Washington State University and a Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga School of Law. He and his wife have three children. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, camping, writing and playing the tuba. He succeeded Michael Bradshaw, former general manager of Benton REA, who retired in October after 33 years at the consumer-owned electric cooperative.

• Franklin County has hired Mike Gonzalez as its new administrator. He previously worked for two years as the economic development manager for the city of Pasco and in communications/ government affairs for Franklin PUD. He was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to the state Commission on Hispanic Affairs in October 2022. He spent nearly 20 years in the news business, starting his career in Columbia, Missouri, as a reporter in 1999 and finishing his career as the afternoon anchor at the NBC affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona. Gonzalez was also the news director and evening anchor at KAPP/KVEW ABC in Kennewick from March 2016-18. From 2014-16 he was the morning anchor of the NBC affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina. Gonzalez also served in managing editor roles at the station. Before heading to Raleigh, he served as a morning and evening anchor for six years at ABC affiliate in Spokane. He holds a bachelor’s in communications from North Carolina State University and attended the University of Missouri graduate school.

• Jeff Lubeck recently joined the Port of Benton as the director of finance. His responsibilities include overall administration of the port’s financial operations, office administration, management of employee payroll, benefits, hiring and training activities. His other duties include developing and administering the annual budget, monitoring and reporting financial performance, and overseeing the financial activities of grants and capital projects. He brings corporate finance experience with businesses ranging in size from venture capital-backed startups to Fortune 500 companies. These include technology companies providing goods and services to commercial customers, the federal government and international markets. Lubeck is a native of the Tri-Cities and a Central Washington University graduate. He has accounting and finance degrees and is a certified public accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

• Glenn Vaagen is Benton County’s new communications coordinator. He has 23 years of radio experience. Most recently, he was the program director of the Pacific Northwest Ag Network, heard on 28 radio stations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. During his time there, he received four national farm broadcasters’ awards. He is a graduate of the University of Idaho where he played football for the Vandals.

• Richland School District has selected Nicole Anderson to be the new principal of Richland High School beginning in the 2023-24 school year. She is a veteran school administrator, serving most recently as principal of River’s Edge High School since 2018. Prior to her time at

River’s Edge, she served as assistant principal at Richland High from 2014-18. Anderson has also served as an administrator at Christ the King School and was an English teacher at Richland High for six years. Anderson holds a bachelor’s in education from Eastern Washington University and a master’s in educational leadership from Washington State University. Her principal certification is from Seattle Pacific University. She is a graduate of Richland High School.

• Richland School District has selected Chad Foltz as the new principal of Jason Lee Elementary School beginning in the 2023-24 school year.

Foltz, currently the principal at Amon Creek Elementary School in Kennewick, replaces Jason Lee Elementary principal Debbie Whitney, who is retiring at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Foltz has 21 years of school administration experience, 15 of which were at the elementary level. He has earned several accolades for his work as an administrator, including Kennewick School District Administrator of the Year in 2019 and Lake Wallula Regional Principal of the Year in 2018. He earned his bachelor’s in elementary education K-8 from Washington State University. He also holds two master’s degrees in education – professional development and school administration – from Heritage University.

• The Visit Tri-Cities team hired three new staffers.

Kirsten Finn joins the convention sales team with an extensive background in travel and tourism and will help bring future meetings and events to the

Tri-Cities.

Bethany Close has been hired as operations manager/executive assistant, a new position at Visit Tri-Cities, to bolster operations efforts, as well as foster long-standing committee relationships.

Kaiya Bliss, guest services specialist, will work to ensure that the visitor center experience is welcoming and informative for those seeking guidance about the Tri-Cities.

• Prosser Memorial Health has hired Dr. David Barber as the new director of emergency medicine. He will also be taking on a provider role in the Prosser Memorial Hospital Emergency Department. He is a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed a residency in emergency medicine at Michigan State. He is also certified with the American Board of Emergency Medicine. For the last eight years, he worked in Lourdes and Kadlec’s emergency department, as well as being part of the clinical faculty at Pacific NW University, and as an assistant professor at WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. Barber is a Tri-Cities native, who grew up in Pasco.

• Good Shepherd Health Care System Board of Trustees in Hermiston has hired Art Mathisen as its next president and chief executive officer. He begins July 17, succeeding Emmett Schuster, current interim president and chief executive officer. Mathisen brings more than 25 years of experience serving in various healthcare leadership roles. Since April 2019, he has been serving as the president of Memorial Hospital in North Conway, New Hampshire, part of the nine-hospital system MaineHealth.

Owners persevere