New restaurant in Colfax set to open this month

COLFAX - Construction on the Colfax Downtown Association restaurant incubator project was wrapping up on Friday, July 26, to prepare for the upcoming Wild Ember Kitchen grand opening on Saturday, Aug. 17.

The grand opening will take place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Aug. 17, in the newly opened restaurant at 102 North Main Street, formerly the Washington Federal Bank.

Bond said that a ribbon cutting will take place at 10:30 a.m. during the grand opening and the public is invited to show their support by dining.

"We're finally getting there," Bond said. "It's just been a long journey, but we are so excited to be nearing the end and able to share with the public this exciting venture."

Owner of Wild Ember Kitchen, Trevor Miller, interviewed for the incubator project and was chosen to occupy the incubator space by a panel of locals.

Wild Ember Kitchen will boast an outdoor dining area, drive through window and a full-service bar.

Colfax Downtown Association received $2,259,820 from the Washington State Department of Commerce Small Business Innovation Fund (SBIF) grants, ranging from $500,000 to $5 million, coming out to a total of $32.5 million grants awarded to 22 different projects out of over 120 proposals in November 2022.

The SBIF awarded a variety of activities, including small business incubators and accelerators, support for local procurement initiatives, improvements to physical work spaces in response to public health requirements or acts of vandalism, support for small business competitiveness programs focusing on hiring and retention, as well as projects increasing small business's ability to succeed and thrive.

An incubator is a workspace created to offer business startups and new ventures access to resources that they would need. It also provides resident companies with access to advisors, mentors, administrative support, office equipment, training and potential investors.