Downtown florist explains sign, cafe set to open, library cuts hours, garden center to close

Despite the For Lease sign across the front of the building, Capitol Florist, one of the oldest businesses in downtown Olympia, is still open, owner Cynthia Rae Salazar said this week.

The business at 515 Capitol Way S. has been at that address for 25 years, she said.

During the pandemic, she closed her business to in-person traffic and then decided to leave it that way. She now operates by appointment only, Salazar said.

She can be reached at the store 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. For more information, check out the business’ website.

Salazar said she is looking to move, which is why the sign is up, but she isn’t ready to announce anything yet.

Other business happenings

Laura Alden, who owns the Lava Bowlz food truck at the food truck depot in Lacey, has settled on an opening date for her new cafe.

The Aloha Acai Cafe grand opening is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, at 4570 Avery Lane SE, Suite #B, in Lacey. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is at noon.

Alden’s shop serves food bowls that use the Acai berry as a sorbet base. It is then topped with ingredients such as fresh fruit, granola, dark chocolate, peanut butter or almond butter, The Olympian previously reported.

The Washington State Library at 6880 Capitol Blvd. SE in Tumwater is now closed to in-person visits on Mondays, the Secretary of State’s Office announced.

Hours were cut because the library is unable to fill vacant staff positions due to a revenue shortfall, officials said in a news release.

State Library operations are funded through fees on filings of real-estate transactions and other public records, according to the release. In fiscal year 2022, the library operations account received $6.36 million from these sources. For fiscal year 2023, those revenues totaled $3.84 million, the news release reads.

“People deserve stable operations from their government, and this situation is a consequence of becoming too dependent on unpredictable resources,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement. “I hope to work with the Legislature to restore the State Library’s full scope of resources by providing a reliable, sustainable, and responsible source of funding.”

The library is still open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

The Olympia Food Co-op’s Westside Garden Center will close on Nov. 5 because it has operated at a loss since 2014, the co-op announced on its Facebook page.

“Due to the Co-op’s commitment to offering fair prices to our members and fair wages to our workers, the Garden Center has never been able to make enough money to cover its operating costs and has operated at a loss these past nine years despite our best efforts,” the social media post reads. “After long and careful deliberations, the Staff Collective has concluded that closing the Westside Garden Center is the best choice for our organization.

“We will be moving as much product as possible back into the Westside Co-op with EBT-eligible plants and seeds receiving top priority. Our hope is that this move will help increase access to garden supplies rather than decreasing it, as members will no longer need to be available during the garden center’s limited open hours.”

A closing sale at the garden center is taking place the entire month of October, the post reads. “Items throughout the Garden Center will be priced to sell and we encourage you to stop by throughout the month to get amazing deals on gardening goods.”

Real estate

Remember Bally Total Fitness on Sleater Kinney Road? The building has long been part of North Thurston Public Schools’ Raj Manhas Activity Center and now that space is being renovated, according to the district.

Once the renovations are complete, the space will house the Family & Youth Resource Center, the South Sound Reading Foundation, student records and the Ignite Family Academy, a hybrid school (in-person and online) operated by the district.

Tumwater has received a notice of application for a mixed-use project that aims to build 148 apartments and an 8,500-square-foot commercial space on two parcels along Tyee Drive, just west of the Toyota of Olympia dealership, according to city information.

The city deemed the application complete on Sept. 25. If you would like to comment on the proposal, send comments to Associate Planner Alex Baruch at abaruch@ci.tumwater.wa.us by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13.

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.