Closed Tri-Cities restaurant reopens. Now, it’s bringing some biblical heat to its menu
The former Rock Wood Fired Pizza has reopened with a familiar vibe but a hot new name and approach to business.
Hellfired Pizza is the new brand but the restaurant itself is operating with the same owners, managers and employees. Hotstone LLC, which formerly franchised under “The Rock” brand.
The Rock closed on April 1. The reopening was delayed while the owners secured new licenses and other agreements.
Hellfired Kennewick is one of four former Rock spots Hotstone is rebranding after its owners decided to shed their old franchise, said Chad Diaz, an owner and operator of the Vancouver-based company.
Diaz spent the week in Kennewick getting the restaurant open.
Two are in the Portland metro area and a third. is in Vancouver, Wash. All will reopen under the Hellfired name by the end of the weekend.
Diaz said the Hotstone, aka Hot Stone, group enjoyed its long relationship with The Rock, but was ready to step out on its own. The team wanted to evolve its brand, raise quality and transform its restaurants into local destinations with distinct personalities.
The evolution is ongoing, but started with a new menu, including new recipes and new vendors for its produce and even the almond wood that fuel its pizza opens. Portland-based Charlie’s Produce is its new produce vendor.
“We always thought the dough could be better and now it is,” Diaz said.
New restaurant name
About the name “Hellfired.”
Diaz said he loves it and the branding opportunities it opens up. He acknowledged he was initially concerned it might not sit well with the pizza restaurant’s church-going customers.
In the end, he took a cue from his uncle. His uncle is both a preacher and a dedicated fan of “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Gordon Ramsay-helmed FOX kitchen reality show.
His uncle, he said, wasn’t put off by “Hell” in the program title, so the Hotstone group pressed ahead.
“It’s growing me,” he said. “Flames are cool and it sounds exciting.”
Hellfired brand evolving
The restaurant has a new name, its own licenses and new menu and vendors, but the changeover is ongoing.
Its predecessor, The Rock, was one of Kennewick’s most prominent restaurants, its battered saloon decor making it a standout as soon as it opened in 2013 at 4862 Hildebrand Blvd., in the Southridge area off busy Highway 395.
The artfully distressed decor, including real crumbling brick, is staying put. But operations will shift in the coming months to better reflect the owners’ vision for Hellfired.
Dias said the new menu is still getting its finishing touches and a permanent sign will replace The Rock one in coming weeks.
In the longer term, it will shed its generic happy hour, which featured general discounts throughout the restaurant.
Instead, Hellfired will aggressively market its bar as an adult destination, complete with its own beverage menu and happy hour specials.
And Diaz aims to do more to promote Hellfired as a lunch destination by offering value-priced midday pizza-and-salad specials to compete with the area’s fast-food restaurants.
Hellfired Pizza ‘s hours are currently 1 1 am.-midnight.
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