"I saw that it's a really nice community but there are not enough places to eat," Adnan Ali told The Reflector in September. He explained that he decided to open in Ridgefield after a day of driving around town and stopping at the river. His restaurant, Zaiqa Indian Cuisine, opened on Friday, Sept. 11. It's in the Legacy Trails Retail development, not on Main Avenue.
Zaiqa fits a pattern in how Ridgefield changed between August and early October. Most of the new places to eat and shop opened along Royle Road, Hillhurst Road and the Pioneer Street corridor. Meanwhile, the city has been adjusting the streets that connect those areas with downtown and the schools: a roundabout lane trial, a one-way conversion and a new elementary school's morning routes. You can map out a Ridgefield weeknight differently than you could in July.
Where the New Tables Landed
There are two new restaurant clusters, and both are a short drive from downtown.
Legacy Trails, 536 S. Royle Road. Zaiqa Indian Cuisine is in suite #145. Ali spent about eight years as a software engineer before he went into the restaurant business. He told The Reflector that he saw "no diversity for the food" in Ridgefield and that the response since opening has been positive. Niyom Thai Kitchen is in the same center. As of an Oct. 1 update, a local business tracker still listed it as "opening soon." City records and the tracker give different suite numbers, so check the storefront before you go.
2205 and 2209 S. Hillhurst Road. FIKA Coffee's own site says it's "NOW OPEN" at 2209 S. Hillhurst Rd., Suite 110. Cheeky Noodles is in the same building, in Suite 130. On Sept. 4, The Columbian called it "Ridgefield's newest destination for crave-worthy food." Owner Justin Raczak built the menu around macaroni and cheese and other cheese-and-noodle comfort food. Next door, Mahoney's Public House at 2205 S. Hillhurst Rd., Suite 110 had a permit by August. The Oct. 1 tracker update still said "No opening date yet."
Here's the status of each as of early October:
- Open: Zaiqa Indian Cuisine, FIKA Coffee, Cheeky Noodles
- Permitted, no public date: Mahoney's Public House
- Listed as opening soon: Niyom Thai Kitchen
Errands Closer to Home
The biggest opening of the season wasn't a restaurant. Ridgefield's new Goodwill Superstore at 121 S. 65th Ave. cut its ribbon at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3. According to The Reflector, more than 500 shoppers came through in the first 15 minutes. The store is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The store also offers more than a donation drop and racks to browse. Goodwill's David Miller said the location will run the organization's free programs right in Ridgefield. Those include job connection help, English and second-language classes, U.S. citizenship test preparation, and computer training from basic skills up to Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Mayor Matt Cole said the store is expected to bring about 40 jobs, and that the hiring event drew more than 100 applicants. The Reflector described the opening as a way for a growing city to add jobs and services without residents having to leave town.
City permit records point to more errand stops coming to Pioneer Street. The city's August 2026 development summary lists a permit for a Grocery Outlet building shell at 4618 Pioneer St., with tenant-improvement permits issued. It also shows permits from July for the Royle Ridge Convenience Store and fuel canopy at 4500 Pioneer St. A larger proposal from MAJ Development, south of Pioneer at the North Discovery Drive roundabout, calls for an 84,000-square-foot retail building and 136 apartments. When The Reflector reported on it Aug. 18, no tenant had been named and the pre-application conference hadn't been scheduled.
All that activity along Pioneer puts more cars on one stretch of road, which is why the next change matters.
The Roundabout Still on Trial
The Pioneer Widening and Discovery Drive Roundabout Project finished its major construction last December. Since then, the city says, it has heard that the Pioneer Street and N. 56th Place roundabout confuses some drivers. The trouble spot is the northwest quadrant, where southbound traffic on N. 56th Place enters the circle.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, the city started a 45-day trial. The outside southbound lane on N. 56th Place became right-turn-only onto Pioneer Street. If you're leaving the Costco area for I-5, you still have two options:
- Use the inside southbound lane on N. 56th Place, enter the roundabout and exit onto eastbound Pioneer Street.
- Head west on Pioneer Canyon Drive to the Discovery Drive roundabout, then exit onto eastbound Pioneer Street.
The city's release said the change would become permanent if it improves traffic without causing significant backups on N. 56th Place, and it promised an update in September. As of early October, we couldn't find a published decision. The Roundabout Committee's Sept. 14 meeting was canceled, and its next meeting is listed for Oct. 12. For now, follow the posted signs and lane-choice markings. The city's own tips say to pick your lane before you enter and stay in it. The dashed lines inside the circle are for entering, not for changing lanes.
Downtown, Rearranged for Shorter Stops
As new businesses keep opening outside the core, the city has been using downtown's existing street space to fit in more short visits. The final phase of the Downtown Parking Plan turned N. 4th Avenue between Pioneer Street and Simons Street into a one-way northbound street, with angled parking on the west side. The street reopened Aug. 12.
There are two reasons for the change. The angled spaces fit more cars than the old parallel parking. The city also says it removes a low-visibility left turn for southbound drivers turning onto Pioneer. City Council adopted the plan in March 2025, and in total it adds about 30 parking spaces to the downtown core. Earlier phases added one-way signs on S. Main Avenue and N. 5th Avenue. They also opened the spaces along Pioneer next to the Ridgefield Administrative and Civic Center to the public, and marked on-street parking stalls.
The one-way change affects school pickup. Families in the Union Ridge Elementary pick-up and drop-off line can no longer drive south on N. 4th to get to Pioneer. The city says to use N. 3rd Avenue or Main Avenue instead.
Some families have a new morning route entirely. Sunset Ridge Elementary opened at 7025 N. 10th St. on Monday, Aug. 24, the first day of the 2026–27 school year. It's the Ridgefield School District's first new elementary school in 62 years.
One Goodbye on NE 10th Avenue
Not every change this fall was an opening. Pacific Northwest Best Fish Co. closed its retail market at 24415 N.E. 10th Ave. after 26 years. The owners posted the news on social media on a Tuesday and said the previous Sunday had been the market's last day. The Columbian reported the closure Sept. 16.
The rest of the property is still open. The company said PNWB Cafe and 3peaks Taproom next door will remain open, so you can still get a meal or a pint at that address, just not fish from the counter.
What's Next on the Calendar
Downtown hosts the next big gathering. The city calendar lists Downtown Trick or Treat on Oct. 30 from 3 to 5 p.m. at participating downtown businesses. With the new angled spaces on N. 4th, that afternoon will be one of the first busy downtown events under the finished parking plan.
There's also a bigger project on Hillhurst Road. The city's August development summary lists Sanderling Park, a 39.44-acre site at 23115 NW Hillhurst Road, as under construction. The summary doesn't give an opening date. When it opens, it will be one more reason to drive out to Hillhurst, along with FIKA, Cheeky Noodles and eventually Mahoney's.
New restaurants and shops close to home can affect what a house nearby is worth. If you're curious how this fall's changes might show up in your home's value, Joy Johnson can help you get a clear starting point. Get your instant home valuation, and if you'd like help reading the numbers, give Joy a call.
