Downtown Olympia shop expands, coffee biz adds a site, and a carniceria opens in Lacey
Radiance, a business that has been in downtown Olympia since 1974 and on Fifth Avenue since 1985, has expanded into a long vacant space next door.
Travis and Eric Pollard bought Radiance Herbs and Massage in 2019, survived and actually thrived during the pandemic, and then took a closer look at the Radiance operation.
“We needed the extra space,” said Travis, who used to run a business in Centralia called Bead Opus.
The flagship store offers massage, and those services take up about one-third of the 5,000-square-foot business. Next door, however, was the space once occupied by the 5th Avenue Sandwich Shop.
The two of them had tried to recruit businesses to fill the space, but finally decided the 2,300-square-foot site would work for their own related enterprise, which they now call Kindred Moon Apothecary.
“It felt like this was meant to be,” Travis told The Olympian.
The apothecary sells more than 300 herbs, teas and spices, including medicinal herbs and medicinal and beverage teas, as well as body and skin care products, supplements, cultural goods and gifts. Many of those products are supplied by local vendors, Eric said.
Construction on the space took four months, but that also became a marketing opportunity for the Pollards because so many customers were curious about what was happening next door. Sometimes customers would inquire about the space and Travis would show it to them, he said.
That built word-of-mouth buzz about the expansion so that when they did open in January 2022, they had their best-ever quarter of business, Travis said.
And the point-of-sale system that is used at Radiance is the same at Kindred Moon, so for every $100 you spend at either one, you get $5 of in-store credit, the owners said.
Kindred Moon and Radiance, both of which are on downtown Olympia’s Fifth Avenue between Washington Street and Capitol Way, are open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Learn more about Kindred Moon on its Facebook page.
Other business happenings
Coffee shop and espresso stand operator Northwest Grind, which has locations in Rochester and at Capital Mall in Olympia, is opening a third location in Yelm, according to an email from the owners.
The Yelm site also will offer bubble tea, the business announced on Instagram.
“Not just any Bubble Tea though, we are partnering with the best in the business, and will be serving @bubbleology,” the post reads. “Bubbleology is an amazing business serving high quality teas, based mostly in Europe!”
Meanwhile, a Pacific Avenue building near Sleater-Kinney Road that was once home to Jim Bob’s Chuck Wagon has a new tenant, according to a check of the property. Jim Bob’s closed last fall.
The new tenant, which opened March 12, is called Rivera’s Market Carniceria: Meat & Restaurant.
Elsewhere, the Port of Olympia commission on Monday approved a new ground lease with a business called Spanafac LLC, which, according to a port official at the meeting, has entered into a purchase and sales agreement for a building owned by Glacier Aviation at Olympia Regional Airport.
As part of the new ground lease, Spanafac has agreed to make improvements to the building and premises in exchange for a deferment of a portion of the base rent until the seventh anniversary of the long-term lease. At that time, the port will be paid a lump sum, including a compounded 5 percent interest rate, according to the port official.
The Olympian reached out to port officials to find out what business Spanafac is in, but did not receive an answer.
If you know of a retailer, restaurant, coffee shop or other business that is opening, closing, expanding, remodeling, or changing its focus, send an email to reporter Rolf Boone at rboone@theolympian.com.
