The new Olympia Coffee location on Fifth Avenue in downtown Seattle. All images courtesy of Olympia Coffee Roasting Co.
Washington State-based Olympia Coffee Roasting Co. is continuing to expand beyond its nominal city with the opening of its first shop in downtown Seattle.
Offering two service areas in the Cedar Hall retail center at the revitalized US Bank Center (USBC) off Pike Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue, the shop is Olympia’s seventh overall.
After firmly establishing its presence as a purveyor of high-quality specialty coffees in downtown Olympia, then making its way up to Tacoma, the company has now opened three Seattle shops, including a West Seattle spot that opened in 2018 and a Columbia City neighborhood shop that came a year later. The company also got into the bakery game with the opening of sibling brand Moonrise Bakery in the Queen Anne neighborhood in 2021.
“We don’t have any more cafes in the works at the moment,” Olympia Coffee Co-Owner, President and Green Buyer Oliver Stormshak told DCN. “This is our first Olympia Coffee to open since 2019, and we have always been slow and strategic about our growth.”
Moonrise will provide the baked goods at the new downtown Seattle shop alongside savory options from local outfit Sunrise Tacos.
The star of the shop will of course be coffee, which was recently rebranded by Olympia to highlight relationships with producers, reduce waste and be more visually engaging.
At Cedar Hall, coffees will be served from two spots, one facing the hall’s spacious public lounge and retail area, and the other from a window facing Fifth Avenue.
The company said it collaborated with espresso equipment company La Marzocco to create a Modbar “peninsula” within the bar that includes four espresso fonts, each with steam wands. Espresso grounds will come from Mahlkönig E80S grind-by-weight grinders, while batch brews will run through a Fetco 2232 unit.
The shop design was led by longtime Olympia Coffee collaborator, Olympia-based architecture and design firm The Artisans Group.
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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