BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Delish Bistro readies for reopening of new location
By NICK ROSENBERGER
STAFF WRITER
HERMISTON — With
a shock of teal and brick,
Delish Bistro reopens at
its new location at 1619 N.
First St. in Hermiston in
just a few short weeks. The
move launches the restaurant
from a cramped 600-square-
foot interior to an expan-
sive 6,000 square feet where
diners can expect to fi nd an
array of dishes from around
the world.
Mother-daughter
duo
Carol and La Nae Hull run
the restaurant, which off ers
food ranging from American
burgers to Italian gelato to
Vietnamese dishes. The pro-
fessionally-trained chefs are
hoping to open their doors to
diners by the time the Farm-
City Pro Rodeo rolls around
on Aug. 11.
“We’re getting excited,”
said La Nae, the head chef.
She said they cook and serve
their favorite foods from
around the world and the
menu will change depending
on the seasons.
“We have a good menu,”
Carol said. “We just love
what we’re doing — cook-
ing for people and making
people happy so hopefully
that’ll continue.”
Nick Rosenberger/Hermiston Herald
Herman Hull, left, Sarah Siena-Hull, center, and Carol Hull pose Thursday, July 22, 2021, in
front of a hand-painted butterfl y Sarah was working on near the entrance of Delish Bistro
in Hermiston. Mother-daughter duo Carol and La Nae Hull (not pictured) run the restaurant,
which will open at its new location, 1619 N. First St., in a few weeks.
With bright colors, spa-
cious ceilings and vintage
posters lining the walls, the
new location is a departure
from previous restaurants in
the building. What used to
be a Fuddruckers, then Mav-
ericks Entertainment and
fi nally Stet’s Steak House
with dark wood and interiors
now is light and shiny.
“We want people to feel
happy in here, and so we
want bright colors,” Carol
said. “We just wanted it to be
a happy place to come to.”
The Hull family also
lacked space in the previous
location and were thinking
about moving around three
years ago. Construction on
the site began in earnest in
2019 but stalled for a while
with the COVID-19 pan-
demic. Despite this, they are
close to completion and are
hoping to open the week of
the rodeo.
According to Herman
Hull, Carol’s husband, the
kitchen at the old location
was so narrow “you had
to turn sideways to walk
past each other.” The new
kitchen, in contrast, has
plenty of space for the range
of food they cook with ded-
icated line, prep and baking
areas.
“We just have more room
to do more stuff ,” Carol said,
“and we added another dou-
ble-decker oven so we can
get more things done every
time.”
The cramped conditions
were so bad that Carol was
coming into the kitchen
at 3 a.m. to start baking
before the kitchen would
get too packed with staff .
She wouldn’t get home until
after the restaurant closed in
the evening.
The new site, which is
right in front of the Hermis-
ton Home Depot, also will be
host to more than just food.
With a private event room
for guests, named the Hibis-
cus Room, a stage for live
music and microphones to
host a radio show for Herm-
iston’s KOHU station every
Tuesday, Delish Bistro has
the opportunity to be a big-
ger fi xture of the Hermiston
community.
The family hopes to host
musicians during the week-
end and is interested in fea-
turing people from the local
area, those traveling around
or startup artists.
The restaurant is split
up between a breakfast
area and lunch and dinner
areas. In their last location,
the Hulls had to take out
the bar because they didn’t
have enough space. With the
expansion, they will be see-
ing a return to full alcohol
service with beer, wine and
mixed drinks they can sell
to-go.
Starting at 7 a.m., eaters
can fi nd homemade pastries
and coff ee. There is lunch
in the afternoons, a happy
hour 4-6 p.m. while dinner
runs from 5-9 p.m. Some of
their dinner options include
Hawaiian poke, pork spare
ribs and whole rainbow
trout.
Delish Bistro is hiring
bartenders, cooks, bakers,
servers and dishwashers.
For more information, email
info@delishbistro.com.
Youth win cash in UEC contest
HERMISTON HERALD
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Jenexy Rivera, left, Maya Rodriguez and Amanda Olivo pose for a picture Tuesday, Aug. 3,
2021, alongside Get Fit Nutrition owner Laura Rivera in Hermiston.
Get Fit Nutrition working to
promote a healthy lifestyle
BY JEFF BUDLONG
STAFF WRITER
Laura Rivera jumped in
with both feet and has no
plans to look back.
Rivera made the deci-
sion to start her own busi-
ness when her 15-year
position at Walmart was
eliminated, to show her-
self and family that with a
dream and hard work any-
thing is possible.
“After being with a com-
pany for 15 years and being
let go, I decided to open my
own business for my kids to
show them it is possible to
be your own boss,” Rivera
said. “My oldest daughter
was looking for a job and I
told her, ‘You can help me
with this and learn about
running a business.’ I want
her to run her own business
and teach her we can do it.”
Rivera has four other
children — Jayden, 12,
Miley, 8, Jandel, 6, and
A.J., 3 — and sees the busi-
ness as a way to teach them
the benefi ts that come with
hard work. Rivera stresses
a healthy lifestyle with
her family and hopes to
play a part in that for her
customers.
That determination has
led to one of Hermiston’s
newest businesses in Get
Fit Nutrition, focusing on
healthy food and drinks.
The menu includes iced and
hot coff ee, protein shakes,
energy drinks, boba teas,
fruit açai bowls and fresh
protein waffl es all designed
to cut down on sugar and
calories, and promote a
healthier way of living.
Rivera, who grew up
in Hermiston, already was
running the business out of
her home before deciding
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A selection of colorful boba straws sit on the counter at Get Fit
Nutrition on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021.
to expand. The process took
about six months to fi nd
the right location, remodel
and get all of the certifi ca-
tions she needed, but she
received help from her fam-
ily to make it a reality.
Her husband, Amando
Armenta, owns the con-
struction company Armenta
and Sons and helped do a
full remodel on the building
at 130 S.E. Third St., while
her oldest daughter, Jenexy
Rivera, 17, and friends will
help Rivera with the day to
day.
“I had the vision and
Amando made it work per-
fectly,” said Rivera of the
space that includes bar and
table seating as well as a
selfi e station to add some
fun to an outing.
Get Fit Nutrition had its
grand opening July 24, and
the early returns have been
promising.
“It has been really busy,”
said Rivera, who built up
relationships while work-
ing in Hermiston over the
years. “The community has
really been supporting me.
The waffl es and açai bowls
have been the most popular
because the fi rst few days
I have run out of almost
everything.”
Rivera said food and
drinks that are delish and
healthy is a combination
that has been successful for
her and one she hopes will
drive people through the
door for years to come.
The business is open
seven days a week, 7 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Monday through
Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on the weekend.
Rivera’s aunt, Martha
Macias, and best friend,
Amanda Olivo, also work
at the new business along
with two of her daughter’s
friends, Maya Rodriguez
and Crystal Sanguino.
For Rivera, the business
represents an opportunity
to work in something she is
passionate about.
“If you do something
you like every day, you
never work another day in
your life,” she said.
The Umatilla Elec-
tric Cooperative recently
announced winners of its
UEC Youth Entrepreneur
Contest.
All of the winners are
Hermiston High School stu-
dents.The fi rst place prize
of $1,000 was awarded to
Revved, LLC, submitted
by Alexander Echeverria
Garcia.
He envisions REVVED
as a successful producer
of high-quality electric
boards. Garcia’s mission
is to help customers avoid
traffi c by providing them
with an alternative mode of
transportation. After begin-
ning operations, REVVED
will sell the electric boards
on pre-existing e-com-
merce websites.
Elizabeth
Doherty
received the second place
prize of $500 for her busi-
ness, Red Stag Ag. Con-
sulting, LLC. She intends
to increase the effi ciency of
farming practices in East-
ern Oregon. The consult-
ing company will off er
individualized packages to
help increase the success of
farmers in the region.
The $200 third place
prize went to Precision
Enterprises Inc., which
was submitted by Paige
UEC Business Resource Center/Contributed Photo
Winners of the UEC Youth Entrepreneur Contest and
representatives from the UEC Business Resource Center
participate in a July 26, 2021, award ceremony at UEC in
Hermiston. Pictured are, from left, Benjamin Doherty, Kim
Bolen, Paige Bolen, Lisa McMeen, Elizabeth Doherty, Greg
Smith, Alexander Garcia Echeverria and Lorena Garcia.
Bolen. Over the past few
years, Bolen has been suc-
cessful in operating her
livestock business, which
off ers high-quality breed-
ing animals and mouthwa-
tering meat to local con-
sumers. In the future, she
plans to expand Precision
Enterprises by using vari-
ous forms of marketing and
networking tools.
The contest, which ran
from May 17 to June 17,
was open to all incoming
high school students. The
contest served as an oppor-
tunity for high school stu-
dents to enhance their busi-
ness and entrepreneurship
experience by creating a
realistic and sustainable
business plan.
Doherty
expressed
appreciation
to
UEC
for their generosity and
encouraging young people
to become entrepreneurs.
“Red Stag Ag. Consult-
ing, LLC has been circu-
lating my brain for a while,
and the UEC Youth Entre-
preneur Contest helped me
organize my thoughts into
an actual business plan,”
she said.
For questions about the
resource center, contact
541-289-3000 or uecbrc@
gmail.com.