Owners of Budd Bay Cafe and Pints Barn plan to reopen downtown Olympia’s Oyster House

The property has been purchased, a plan is in place and now downtown Olympia’s Oyster House, the historic restaurant near Percival Landing, is set to reopen early next year after it closed in October.

That’s according to the two people who will run the business together: Patrick Knutson and Scott McKinney. If you’re unfamiliar with both names, perhaps their businesses will ring a bell.

Knutson runs Budd Bay Cafe in Olympia and River’s Edge in Tumwater, while McKinney has Pints & Quarts in Lacey and Pints Barn in Tumwater. Pam Oates, who co-owns Budd Bay and River’s Edge, also has a minority stake in the Oyster House venture, Knutson said this week.

Knutson bought the building and property in October. Prior to closing the deal, Knutson and McKinney had heard it was up for sale. McKinney’s message to Knutson: Don’t go buy it without me.

Now, they are aiming for a late January opening. They pushed the opening back a month, partly because they didn’t want to open or try to hire over the holidays.

Both said they want a little more time to get the food, customer service and hiring right. They expect to employ 50-60 people in the winter and 80-90 in the summer, Knutson said.

Although they don’t expect to make too many physical changes to a restaurant that is relatively new after it was recently destroyed by fire and rebuilt, they do want to give it a different feel.

They expect to add a oyster shucking station, as well as well one that might set up on the sidewalk in the summer. They also expect to have a “small, executable menu with specials,” Knutson said, and they have plans to locally source their shellfish, possibly from the Olympia Oyster Co., Taylor Shellfish, or Chelsea Farms.

Knutson also envisions some staples, such as fish and chips, steamer clams and halibut, but each prepared in two or three different ways on the menu. For example, they might have two kinds of fish and chips: beer-battered and panko-breaded.

The two owners are aiming to create a family-friendly and price-friendly destination, they said.

Mike Reid, the city of Olympia economic development director, said the restaurant was missed.

“To have a gap on the waterfront where there isn’t activity and vibrancy is a lost opportunity,” he said.

Reid said he was thrilled to hear that two well-established restaurateurs had joined forces.

“Both have really good brands and I feel very confident that it will be exciting and will work,” he said about the new venture.

More parking might be in the Oyster House’s future, too.

Knutson said he was set to have a discussion with the Olympia Yacht Club about leasing half of the lot west of the restaurant.

He also has a ready answer when asked about whether he is competing against Budd Bay Cafe.

“I’d rather be my own competition than compete against someone else,” he said.

This story was originally published November 21, 2018 at 7:00 AM.