Downtown cafe to close, beauty retailer will move, and is this Asian market open or closed?
This story has been updated to reflect new information about Arirang Asian Market.
New Moon Cafe on Fourth Avenue in downtown Olympia is closing after this weekend, the business announced on social media.
“We will be open for one last week, Dec. 13-Dec. 16,” the post reads.
The cafe has been operating as an employee-owned cooperative for a number of years.
“The COVID pandemic changed everything for the co-op, and it’s become evident that we have overreached our capacity,” the post reads. “We can no longer hold onto this legendary community space and restaurant. Keeping a restaurant open is a challenge, but closing during the slow season is proving itself to be quite the challenge as well.
“As of right now, we as a collective are struggling to pay ourselves, our rent, and legal fees required to close a restaurant as safely as possible for our worker owners and contingent members.
“The operational plate we’ve been served feels massive, and we need help going through it all. Please show up for us. As of right now, it looks like we need to raise about $20k to leave New Moon as safely as possible.”
Retailers moving, opening
An existing building in west Olympia is being renovated for a future Ulta Beauty, according to a check of the property at 1200 Cooper Point Road SW.
But its arrival also raises some questions because there’s an existing Ulta store on Harrison Avenue near Target. There’s also a store in Lacey. So, is one of those locations moving or are they going to operate three stores in this market?
A spokesperson for Ulta could not immediately be reached, but an employee at the Lacey store said the existing Harrison Avenue site is moving.
Ulta Beauty sells cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services.
Meanwhile, Daiso, the Japan-based retailer of home goods and other products, is coming to the same address as Ulta Beauty, according to a check of the property.
The shopping center, which is known as Cooper Point Marketplace, has a website that shows both stores are coming to the west side location.
Cooper Point Marketplace is already home to Nordstrom Rack and Five Guys Burgers.
Daiso opened a store over the summer at the Fred Meyer shopping center off Sleater Kinney Road SE in Lacey.
Vandalized businesses open
Eastside Big Tom and hair salon Oly Curl, both of which operate on Fourth Avenue East near Ralph’s Thriftway in Olympia, were damaged last month by a man who was re-arrested by police this month, The Olympian reported.
Both businesses are still in business. The suspect flooded Oly Curl with a hose, but the business remained open, said owner Yukiko Taylor on Thursday.
She said the water filled ducting, then spilled onto an unfinished basement.
“We’re running a dehumidifier and a heater and it seems to have dried out pretty well,” she said.
Oly Curl is open by appointment only 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Eastside Big Tom owner Michael Fritsch provided a blow-by-blow account on his Instagram page of what happened to his burger joint overnight on Nov. 21.
“Walks onto the property, rips a sign off the fence, tries to throw it through the double-pane window. When that doesn’t work, he tosses it through the single-pane window, climbs in the building, ransacks it, leaves, comes back, crawls around on his hands and knees in the building, and then leaves without taking anything.
“Yup, one of those nights,” he wrote.
In case you missed it
Locust Cider, which operated a cidery at 222 Market in downtown Olympia, has closed that location and six others, the business announced on social media.
“We started in 2015 with a dream of sharing our love for cider in Washington. In 2019, we expanded that dream with a vision to build a network of taprooms, creating personal connections with cider lovers in more communities. Then COVID hit. Like so many others, we were pushed to the brink. We kept going — sometimes stubbornly — when what we really needed was to pause and rebuild with a clearer, more sustainable path.”
Open or closed?
A reader wants to know: Is the Arirang Asian Market at 7940 Martin Way East, just west of Galaxy Drive in Lacey, open or closed?
The answer is open! However, the market had recently closed for a vacation, said owner Alice Woo on Friday. In fact, the business reopened Friday morning, she said.
The business first opened in 1974. It is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
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Still a going concern
Capitol Little League, a Port of Olympia tenant that recently raised concerns about a proposed rent increase for its grounds near Olympia Regional Airport, has not gone defunct, President Loris Gies said this week in an email to The Olympian.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Gies said, but acknowledged that news about the lease may have left that impression.
“We have negotiated a lease extension through our 2027 season, so we are good to play at the complex for the next few years,” Gies said. “We are working on finding a new location or locations, but really can’t share that actual information at this point.”
The league is adding girls softball this spring, she said.
Want to play or get involved with youth baseball or softball? Learn more at the Capitol Little League website.
After the fact?
A developer is seeking approval of a Class IV Forest Land Conversion to prepare a site for construction of a shop at 5709 Black Lake Belmore Road SW, Olympia, the county announced.
However, county officials say that this is an after-the-fact application because the tree harvest has already occurred.
“The estimated volume of timber to be harvested is approximately 50,000 board feet,” the county information reads. “The harvest area covers approximately 2 acres of the 5.77-acre parcel.”
The parcel is zoned single-family low density in Tumwater’s urban growth area.
Care to comment? Send comments to Senior Planner Kraig Chalem at kraig.chalem@co.thurston.wa.us by 4 p.m. Dec. 31.
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 December 13, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
