Submitted by Artisans Group
On Saturday, May 12, Tacoma’s vibrant Proctor District welcomes the addition of Olympia Coffee Roasting Company’s newest café on the corner of N. Proctor Street and N. 26th. In cooperation with neighboring business Lapis, the Grand Opening will feature Olympia Coffee’s signature award winning drip coffee and espresso as well as snacks and music throughout the day. It’s a celebration of community, and an introduction to a wonderful new space for people to gather, enjoy and share in artful craft and quality.
Designed and built by the national award winning Pacific Northwest architecture firm, Artisans Group, the new Olympia Coffee café embraces the Proctor District’s history and momentum as a future forward neighborhood that cares about the details. A partially exposed ceiling within the café allows visitors to peer into Tacoma’s past, while a carefully detailed and finished ceiling cloud mirrors the footprint of their beautiful new espresso bar, home of their stunning Pantechnicon customized La Marzocco Strada AV espresso machine.
A space that harmonizes old and new Tacoma, the newest Olympia Coffee Roasting café features custom cabinets by local sustainable wood artists Beech Tree Woodworks, industrial themed table and stool bases by Corzine Furniture Company, tile work by Rick Bradley, a small batch Diedrich roaster that will be publicly roasting fresh coffee every Saturday, and expansive windows to let in the natural light and sights of the neighborhood. It all comes together in this corner café to create a wonderful gathering space that’s both a return to roots for this specialty coffee roaster and a nod to our dynamic Pacific Northwest. Oliver Stormshak, co-owner of Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, grew up nearby going to movies at the Blue Mouse Theater and bowling at Chalet Bowl. When asked about opening a café in his old neighborhood, Oliver replied, “Opening in the Proctor District is a lifetime dream for me, everything about this project is a dream come true.”
The Artisans Group’s Roussa Cassel, who has worked closely with Olympia Coffee to design four of their cafés, wanted this new space to both stay true to the neighborhood’s character while continuing to push the envelope of quality design for Olympia Coffee and its customers. “Their investment in the spaces they move into is incredible,” she says. “As small business owners they’ve chosen to transform what were uninspiring vacancies into something that generates community pride. This café, for example, was for years a Radio Shack. Now? It’s a beautiful light filled community friendly space. We wanted to design and build something inspirational because Olympia Coffee Roasting Company is an inspirational community centric business.”
Olympia Coffee Roasting Company’s hours for their new Proctor District Location: Monday to Friday 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Saturday 6:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., and Sunday 7:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.