D's on Main opens downtown

RITZVILLE – A new restaurant officially opened on Main Street with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, May 11.

D's on Main, 214 W. Main Ave., occupies the building formerly owned by Mi Jalisco, which moved to a building near Interstate 90.

The D's on Main building was known as The Circle-T Inn for more than 50 years. A historic sign at the building's entrance states that Del and Bob Templin built the original restaurant in 1946 and later expanded it with a bar and dining room in 1951.

Debbie Binam and her partner, Jeff Duval, hope to keep some of the heritage and community feeling of that original restaurant.

How did the couple end up in this area?

Duval lived in Vancouver, Wash. and Binam near Gresham, Ore. Both cities were getting too big.

"People were developing attitudes of 'move over and get out of my way' as opposed to 'how's your day going?'" she said. "We came here to relax and get away from that. We also wanted a little elbow room."

So in December 2021, they bought a home in Ralston.

"Since then, we've been involved with the Ralston Grange and even served breakfast at the Lind demolition derby, she said. "Jeff is very interested in agriculture; I like the small town friend-and-family feel."

Binam first got the idea of starting a new restaurant while working part time at a hotel. "Travelers routinely asked, 'Where can I go to get a pizza or a bite to eat? Can we play a game of pool somewhere? Does anyone deliver,'" she said. "I always had to answer 'no.'"

To Binam, such regular inquiries highlighted a growing need.

"Jake's and Mi Jalisco are both great, but I wanted to try something different," she said, admitting that running a restaurant is a novel adventure for her. "I worked as a hairdresser for over 30 years, but I've never worked in the restaurant business."

Nevertheless, she expects her years of customer service experience to be an asset.

She'll also rely on her partner and his brother, Steve, who worked as a chef in casinos for more than 30 years.

"Since the bowling alley and Pastime tavern closed, downtown Ritzville has had very little going on," she said. "We want to help downtown grow and succeed."

Binam received the keys to the building Feb. 3.

"Since then, we've put a lot of sweat equity into the building - mostly painting and cleaning," she said. "It had been dormant for a few years, so it needed a lot of TLC."

Binam also installed a pizza oven and stove top in the kitchen, and a pool table and dartboard in the lounge.

"I hope to open the lounge in about 30 days," she said. "Of course, that depends on the liquor board. Once the lounge is up and running, people will be able to play pool and darts and listen to music from a juke box. We also have a conference room where people can host birthday parties and other types of meetings."

Binam's family joined her for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including her parents from Portland, an aunt from Wyoming, her oldest daughter, and Duval's dad and stepmom from Lake Stevens. The Miss Ritzville royalty -Temple Gefre, Madisyn Cameron, and Brooklyn Norton - also held the ribbon for the ceremony.

What's on the menu?

"So far, we offer basic sandwiches with sides, flatbreads, and pizza," Binam said. "We also provide good old-fashioned banana splits and root beer floats for dessert.

"I hope people are patient with us as we work through this initial phase. It's all new to me, but I'm excited to learn and bring something positive to this community."