Well-known Olympia coffee business changes its name, downtown location
.jpg "Moving just a few doors down from their former location along Capitol Way, Dancing Goats Coffee has relocated across from Sylvester Park. It was the site of a Starbucks for a number of years.")
The end of the year and the new year have brought a lot of change to a business that used to be known as Batfdorf & Bronson.
The result is a new name and location in downtown Olympia.
At the end of the year, Batdorf & Bronson, which continues to operate a coffee roastery near the Port of Olympia, changed its name to Dancing Goats Coffee. The business previously operated under both brands, but finally decided to streamline its operation under one name, President and COO Dave Wasson told The Olympian this week.
“It’s always been difficult to have two brands,” he said, adding that customers were sometimes confused by Batdorf & Bronson over the years, with some thinking it was a law firm.
“People found it easier to remember Dancing Goats,” Wasson said.
The other big change was moving its flagship store on Capitol Way — a more than 3,000-square-foot location in the middle of the block that the business occupied for 20 years — to the corner of Legion Way and Capitol Way, where Starbucks was the most recent previous tenant.
Dancing Goats Coffee opened on that corner April 5.
The costs of operating a 1,400-square-foot coffee shop are lower than the previous location, which had become quite expensive, Wasson said. At one time, the business paid $2,800 per month for the Capitol Way space. Now, it’s three times that cost, he said.
Over the past 20 years, downtown has changed, too. State offices moved out of downtown years ago, then the pandemic hit, and then competition picked up.
Wasson estimates there now are 13-14 downtown coffee shops.
Still, he wanted to stay downtown and he wants to continue to support downtown, he said.
The new location has great light, is across from the Sylvester Park, and Wasson feels the Legion Way at Capitol Way intersection is the gateway to downtown.
“It’s a great place for Dancing Goats,” he said.
Elsewhere, Dancing Goats closed a coffee shop location at Point Ruston in Pierce County at the end of the year (not enough business, Wasson said), but did open a new location in downtown Tacoma near the University of Washington campus.
The business, too, continues to operate four coffee shops and a roastery in Atlanta, Georgia. Overall, the company employs 110 people, he said.
Other business happenings
NW Farms, which operates a hydroponic farm in Lacey, has been named Vendor of the Year by the Washington Food Industry Association, the organization announced.
The business operates out of a 25,000-square-foot Lacey business park. It produces six different kinds of lettuce that can be grown in just 20 days, three times faster than lettuce grown outdoors, according to a news release.
Its operations are pesticide-free and use 90 percent less water than traditional farming operations, according to the release. Their locations in Lacey and Auburn grow a variety of greens, herbs and berries. The farm supplies produce to local, regional and national distributors, food service businesses, manufacturers and retail customers within 1-2 days of harvest, according to the release.
“The food industry continues to look for better and more innovative ways to feed people in a sustainable manner. NW Farms sets the standard while meeting the needs of retailers and consumers,” said WFIA President and CEO Tammie Hetrick in a statement. “For this, we honor NW Farms with our 2021-22 Vendor of the Year award.”
A new espresso stand is being explored in front of a self-serve car wash in Lacey in the area of 4714 and 4710 Lacey Blvd. SE, according to city of Lacey information.
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 April 29, 2022 at 5:45 AM with the headline "Well-known Olympia coffee business changes its name, downtown location."
