Rico’s Public House, otherwise known as Rico’s, hosts trivia night every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in downtown Pullman, Washington.

Behind a wall of books and down a staircase, a stage surrounded by tables and other seating options is tucked in the back of Rico’s. On Tuesdays, the seats in the downstairs stage area are filled with locals of all ages. Minors are welcome until 9 p.m.

As they wait for trivia night to start, the teams bustle with energy. Juliann Yusko and Ariel Medeiros, the two hosts of the event, mingle with the participants while setting up the stage and prizes. 

In February of 2021, Medeiros took on the responsibility of running Rico’s weekly trivia night after the COVID-19 lockdown. The original coordinator of Rico’s trivia night did not plan to continue the event after the pandemic. However, with the help of Medeiros, Lindsey Scheer and Liz decided to continue the event.

The three hosts needed more help with trivia night, which led Yusko to join the team in recent years. She was the supervisor for trivia night for three years as a Rico’s employee, until she decided to leave her position at Rico’s and run trivia night independently.

Medeiros said that her favorite aspect of trivia night is that every month they pick an organization to sponsor. She said they collect money for them to support them so they can keep doing what they do for the community.

“And just seeing everyone who donates and seeing how much we can make for them that month, it’s just awesome” said Medeiros. 

Yusko said that the last place team or also known as ‘last place winners’ at Rico’s, won their category they picked last week. Allowing the losing team to select a category gives the less competitive teams something to look forward to. This week, categories ranged from early 2000s pop punk questions to questions about Batman history.

“Its up to the people hosting, they pick three categories, and whoever is our last team gets to pick the category,” Yusko said.

Tawny Szumlas, owner of Rico’s, said the kitchen was running nearly an hour behind on food orders, due to the high attendance of trivia night.

Above the chaos of trivia, there is a lofted billiard room featuring pool tables, vintage arcade games, and darts. Two local residents who just moved to Pullman said that they were excited when they found out about trivia night because it shows the passion and involvement of their new community. 

According to Rico’s website, what is known as Rico’s now, first opened back in 1909 and was founded by E.W. Thorpe. It originally opened as an establishment for tobacco products but also served beverages and meals and where their clientele could come and play games such as cards and pool.  Rico’s current location is not the same as when it first opened, originally located at the intersection of Main and Kamiaken. 

It wasn’t till Roger Johnson bought the smokehouse in the 80s and officially changed the name to “Rico’s Smokehouse” to honor Tony Talarico one of the previous owners who’s mission was to make Rico’s serve the whole community not just one demographic. 

Rico’s now offers several events throughout the week, such as open mic nights, jazz night, and Tuesday night trivia. Through these events, Rico’s serves as a hub to gather local residents and Washington State University students together to engage over shared interests. 
To learn more visit Rico’s website at https://ricospubpullman.com/.