Chicory opens, Yoga Loft closes and Planet Fitness sets opening for Olympia site
Chicory, a new restaurant in downtown Olympia, has opened in space previously occupied by Hart’s Mesa.
When the space on Columbia Street became available, Chicory owners Elise Landry and Adam Wagner jumped at the chance to go into business.
The two, who both have restaurant backgrounds, met in Kansas City and moved to Orcas Island in January 2019. They had a short list of cities they wanted to call home: Bellingham, Astoria or Olympia. They found Olympia to be welcoming, plus they were thrilled with the Farmers Market and the city’s “educated consumers who care about food and where it comes from.”
“Olympia checked all the boxes,” Landry said.
After their move here, Landry went to work at Chelsea Farms Oyster Bar as a pastry chef, then became executive chef. Then, the space at 111 Columbia St. NW became available.
“We tracked down the new owners of the empty space and were able to sign a lease by the end of January,” she said.
And then the pandemic hit and businesses were shuttered. They had to wait until they could open in late July.
The menu reflects where the owners are from, including Landry’s ties to the South, as well as the Northwest. Chicory, a herbaceous plant in the dandelion family, is found in both parts of the country.
Some items on the menu:
- Boudin, a sausage stuffed with pork shoulder, chicken livers and rice.
- Blackened rock fish.
- Smoked and pickled mussels on toast, served with sea vegetables or the “inner-tidal vegetables found along the coast that are naturally salty,” Landry said.
They also are doing a noon to 4 p.m. Sunday brunch. Expect to find Boudin Benedicts, quiche, beignets, and biscuits and gravy on the brunch menu.
The Chicory hours work like this: They are open for takeout lunch (po’ boy sandwiches, BLTs and salads) noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; dine-in service is 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, plus the Sunday brunch.
Co-owner Wagner said restaurant staff are wearing masks and guests are expected to wear masks “anytime they are not seated.”
Learn more about Chicory on their website.
Other business happenings
Yoga Loft is closing this month, owners Maureen and Gerry Oar announced on the Yoga Loft website.
“We are very sorry to announce, due to the impacts of COVID-19 on our business, Yoga Loft is unable to maintain our lease at the Capitol Lake location and will permanently close at month’s end,” the website reads.
Planet Fitness is set to open its 24-hour west Olympia location, in a portion of the former Toys R Us on Cooper Point Road, in October, the fitness business announced.
According to a news release, “the 25,462-square-foot Olympia club will offer state-of-the-art cardio machines and strength equipment, 30-Minute Express Circuit, fully equipped locker rooms with day lockers and showers, numerous flat screen televisions, HydroMassage beds, massage chairs, tanning beds, a Total Body Enhancement booth and more.”
Antiques Olympia at 203 Fourth Ave. W. has reopened. The store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. The store is open by appointment only Mondays through Wednesdays.
For more information, visit the store’s Facebook page.
“I hope to see all my old and new customers come downtown to shop, eat and walk along the waterfront and see what you have been missing,” owner Peggy Colclasure said in an email.
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.
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 5:45 AM with the headline "Chicory opens, Yoga Loft closes and Planet Fitness sets opening for Olympia site."
