Coffee shop opens on Tacoma’s 6th Ave after rent hike forces it from long-time location

Situated directly across from Tacoma General Hospital, Tacoma Java Co. did brisk business for seven years at 919 N. 2nd St., enough for owners Leilani and Anthony Hall to build an addition at their own expense. They were in it for the long haul.

Their dream was upended at the end of 2022, they said, when they were forced out of this fortuitous location — where most of their sales came from the drive-thru window — after a coffee company with dozens of locations offered their landlord almost triple the current rent.

“This other coffee company did everything possible to try to get us to leave before our lease, to the point where we were feeling harassed,” they wrote on Facebook and Instagram in November. “Feeling crushed is an understatement, as this is where our family dream began.”

Fortunately, they were able to secure a new location one mile west: a sit-down cafe in the heart of the Sixth Avenue business district, a neighborhood they had “always desired.” It opened in February at 2703 6th Ave. in the longtime House of Tattoo space next to Primo Grill.

The Halls, who also own a plumbing company, tore out the drop ceiling, revealing original wood beams now painted black, splashed the walls in a scarlet hue and brought in lounge chairs plus a row from the old Olympia Theatre. Similar industrial touches, like a large metal coffee table, mix with live-edge wood tables and a long back counter, all finished by Anthony Hall.

Signature hot and cold drinks, brewed with beans from Seattle’s Vivace Roasters, include the Snickerdoodle (chai with white chocolate, white coffee and cinnamon), the Lavender Nirvana and the Mocha Java Chip. Lotus energy in myriad flavors, tea, smoothies and Italian sodas are also on the menu. Pastries range from muffins and quickbreads made by Olympia’s 8 Arms Community Bakery and bagel sandwiches (with bacon, sausage or spinach and pesto) from Bruchelle’s Bagel Bistro in Covington.

“We really wanted a drive-thru,” admitted Anthony Hall, “but we’re happy we’re here now.”

The bagels in particular have been a big hit, they said, and the line has frequently spilled out the door at peak hours — especially during the shop’s daily happy hour (buy a drink, get the second half-off, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.). Filling a need for mid-evening energizers, they have already noticed returning faces and look forward to adding soft-serve this summer. But they admit the hospital crowd likely doesn’t have time to make the trip, and the loss of drive-thru revenue stings.

‘WE WERE STRONG-ARMED’

News of Tacoma Java Co.’s departure from the Stadium District recalled the unexpected closures of several businesses in the area in 2022.

Starbucks shuttered its Stadium store below Poquitos and Stadium Golf last fall. The coffee giant cited “a number of factors” but, in response to questions from The News Tribune regarding reports of threats and police calls, called out “safety and security of both partners and customers.” Around the same time, Tease Chocolates closed its storefront on Division Avenue and ceased all production, referencing costs, construction and crime as reasons for the decision. Anthem Coffee, a regional chain, also closed last summer under similar circumstances, but ultimately decided to give it another shot, reopening in December.

A few blocks west at Tacoma Java Co., the Halls had known they might be forced out — but not because of the same external forces.

Though they shared the news publicly only six weeks before their lease ended on Dec. 31, they told The News Tribune in April they had been “strung along” for two years.

Their landlord told them in 2021 that Gravity Coffee — a chain based in Pacific, Washington, that has ballooned from 17 locations in 2020 to more than 50 in three states today — had promised him a much higher rent. They were given the chance to match, but the proposal was far too high for an independent business, even one that had just opened a second cafe (also a sit-down, in Bonney Lake).

“The numbers don’t make sense,” said Anthony Hall sitting at the new Tacoma shop. He isn’t sure it would be possible to turn a profit at three times the price.

Gravity did not respond to requests for comment. Its website lists forthcoming locations in Milton, Kent, Port Orchard and two in Puyallup.

In 2021, a spokesperson for the company told The News Tribune in an email that it had signed more than 20 new leases in the two years prior. It’s unclear if the Tacoma Java building was one of them. According to the Halls, the landlord was not able to confirm that Gravity had actually signed a lease until mid-December, just two weeks before the couple took down their sign.

Over the years, other parties had approached them about selling the business, but the situation with Gravity felt different. The Halls said Gravity mailed them at least two letters and dropped off one in person incentivizing them to vacate their lease.

“They were basically offering money to get us to leave early,” said Anthony Hall. They informed the landlord: “Hey, they’re kind of harassing us.”

“We were strong-armed,” said Leilani Hall.

About 90 percent of their sales came from the drive-thru, she estimated, and they had sunk a lot of money into the space when they took over in 2016, signing a two-year and then a five-year lease. “We were ready to sign a 10-year lease even,” her husband said.

The building owner has not responded to requests for comment.

That opportunity never came to pass, but they feel fortunate to have landed on their feet, in a stretch of other small, locally owned businesses they say have been nothing but welcoming.

Now they’re on the lookout for a third location — ideally one with a drive-thru window.

TACOMA JAVA CO.

▪ Tacoma: 2703 6th Ave., 253-292-9194, facebook.com/TacomaJavaCo

▪ Sunday-Thursday 6 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday-Saturday 6 a.m.-8 p.m.

▪ Bonney Lake: 18207 Veterans Memorial Dr. E., 253-750-3666

▪ Daily 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

▪ Details: coffee shop with signature blends and energy drinks, plus local bagels, pastries and handmade jewelry