Pecos Pit Bar-B-Que announced its expansion to Yelm on May 10, 2023, and over eight months later, on Friday, Jan. 26, the barbecue restaurant celebrated its grand opening and officially welcomed customers into the business.
Gerry Kingen, owner of Pecos Pit Bar-B-Que and founder of Red Robin, attended the grand opening event in Yelm and spoke to many of the customers dining and celebrating the official opening.
“We’re tickled pink to be here. My wife’s family has a big ranch just outside of town in McKenna. I’ve always loved Yelm, but my businesses are in Seattle, so that’s where I live,” Kingen said. “We come out here a lot throughout the course of the year, and it’s always such a charming community. You can decompress here versus being hyper-active in Seattle. You can live a quality life down here, whereas up there, it’s kind of crazy.”
Kingen said he fell in love with Pecos Pit Bar-B-Que in West Seattle prior to becoming the owner, stating it had an “addicting quality of product.” The former owner of Pecos Pit told Kingen that he was getting too old to keep up with the business, and Kingen eventually purchased the restaurant.