Meet the couple transforming Fall City’s food scene
Published 4:00 pm Thursday, June 11, 2026
People come to Fall City to float the river, hike the forests or play a round of golf. As of 2024, many also visit town to sip coffee in a Nordic treehouse.
But soon, they may trek to Fall City just to eat — and it’s mostly thanks to one powerhouse couple.
The highly anticipated Treehouse Kitchen will soon open next to Aroma Coffee Co., in a building that was formerly a supply store run by Nelson Treehouse, owners of Treehouse Point. The commercial kitchen will act as four businesses in one: the catering arm of Treehouse Point, consulting for local businesses, the food supplier for Aroma and its own storefront.
Treehouse Kitchen is co-founded by husband and wife duo Manny and Abbey Rodriguez. Manny became Treehouse Point’s head chef in 2023, and Abbey joined not long after as general manager.
Manny grew up watching his grandmother cook authentic Mexican meals and went to culinary school for a stint before beginning his chef career in Los Angeles.
“My earliest food memory is making sandwiches for my parents, and I remember taking extra care, creating just a simple sandwich,” Manny said. “I just thought it was the coolest thing, being able to create something to give to somebody else to consume.”
When a friend took a job at Salish Lodge, Manny followed him north, planning on only helping out for a year or so — but then he met Abbey.
Abbey was raised in Fall City and has always had a knack for hospitality, from working in restaurants and nonprofits to being an executive pastor.
Both come from families that always had an open door and a warm meal to offer. Together, they want to offer that feeling to their Fall City neighbors and visitors alike.
“We are invested in this community,” she said. “Our entire lives are in Fall City … and it is just pure grace that we get to build something for the community that built me. I couldn’t think of anything more stunning.”
If anyone can do it, it’s Abbey and Manny. Thirteen years into their love story, even while working and raising four children together, they have yet to tire of one another.
“We have different skill sets that just so happen to complement each other,” Abbey said. “I’m really administrative and I’m really scheduled and I’m organized. And Manny is so creative, and he can create the most stunning things out of super simple ingredients. We’re able to just kind of bring the worlds together.”
It’s no wonder the Rodriguezes fit so well at Treehouse Point, an award-winning bed and breakfast that has long had a “foundation of magic and hospitality,” Abbey said.
The Rodriguezes rave about the Nelson family, who they have grown close to. Though the Nelsons own Treehouse Kitchen, they have fully entrusted Abbey and Manny with its vision and implementation.
In talking to the Snoqualmie Valley Record, Pete Nelson, founder of Nelson Treehouse, spoke of the strong team Abbey and Manny have formed. The couple can recognize an individual’s strengths, he said, and lead in a way that prioritizes people feeling “fulfilled in their everyday work.”
“They’re just remarkable people and exude kindness and grace and exuberance for life and love of their fellow Valley people,” he said. “They just bring out the best in all the people around them.”
Before the Nelsons hired Manny, he was on the verge of stepping away from cooking all together, burned out from years of the typical restaurant grind. He said he owes them for restoring his faith in and excitement for the industry.
“The Nelsons don’t just build buildings,” Manny said. “They build people. They make your dreams come true.”
Treehouse Kitchen is step one of that dream. Eventually, the Rodriguezes want to build a “food empire,” a place where their community can come to feel “loved and seen,” Abbey said.
“Food, to me, is my greatest outward expression of love,” Manny said. “It is the way I worship. It is the way that I celebrate, the way that I love. The way that I show I care about people, what I hope can bring people together.”
