New meat and food market opens downtown, former Baskin-Robbins gets tenant
Cutz Butchery has opened in downtown Olympia, selling meats, seafood, groceries, beer and wine, said Ricardo Alferez, one of the owners of the business at 510 Columbia St. SW.
Alferez has worked in the meat business for more than 40 years, he said. He moved with his family to the U.S. from Mexico in 1991, his father opening a meat business in Long Beach, California. In 2008, Alferez moved to the Northwest. He has ties to other butcher shops in the area, including Northwest Meats near Lacey, he said.
“It’s where my dreams start,” said Alferez about running his own business, acknowledging that it’s a bigger operation than just selling meats. The store measures 2,700 square feet and employs six, he said.
In addition to chicken, beef, pork and seafood, he also sells a line of jerky supplied by Johnson’s Smokehouse in East Olympia, as well as marinated meats, carne asada, street taco carne asada, homemade brats, homemade hot links, Japanese and American wagyu beef, and a selection of wild game.
He sells Washington-grown beef that is free from genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, he said.
Cutz Butchery is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Other business happenings
The former Baskin-Robbins store at Capitol Boulevard and Custer Way in Tumwater has a new tenant: LoneStar Salon & Spa, which has expanded to the site as a second location.
Baskin-Robbins closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Tumwater official.
Olympia Coffee scored two wins at the U.S. Coffee Championships, the business announced.
Co-owner Sam Schroeder took the top spot in the U.S. Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, while Jake Donaghy, who works in roasting and green sourcing for the business, nabbed a first in the U.S. Coffee Tasters Championship.
The State Highway Credit Union, which operates a branch near Yakima, has voted to merge with the Washington State Employees Credit Union, the Olympia-based credit union announced.
The merger is set to be complete May 15.
As a result of the merger, WSECU gains 1,600 members and a new branch in Union Gap. This increases WSECU’s statewide network to 23 branch locations.
Real estate
Contractor Greg Bailey, a developer of a mixed-use site in Lacey called Hogum Bay Town Center, has shared a rendering of what the entire site will look like once it’s complete.
The development is under construction in the area of Marvin Road Northeast, Willamette Drive Northeast and Hogum Bay Road Northeast. The site will feature commercial development, an indoor/outdoor pickleball facility with a related restaurant and 400 market-rate apartments.
Elsewhere, representatives of Sage Homes NW of Everett are set to meet with Thurston County officials May 4 to get feedback on a proposal to build 216 apartments in the 5200 block of 15th Avenue Northeast, according to county information.
The city of Tumwater has received a notice of application for the Belmont Flats, a mixed-use development that aims to build 626 apartments, according to city information. The development site is the southeast corner of the roundabout at Tyee Drive and Israel Road, said Tumwater spokeswoman Ann Cook.
The 14-day comment period about the proposal ends at 5 p.m. May 5. Written comments may be submitted to the city of Tumwater Community Development Department, Attn: Alex Baruch, 555 Israel Road SW, Tumwater, WA 98501, or email him at abaruch@ci.tumwater.wa.us.
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.
