Burial Grounds coffee shop sets new opening date after ‘misunderstanding’ over permits
The city of Olympia issued a stop work order at the Burial Grounds coffee shop’s future location at 601 Capitol Way S. because the project did not have the required permits.
Two employee owners of Burial Grounds acknowledged Wednesday that there was a misunderstanding about what the city required of them before launching a remodeling project at the new site, which the shop intends to share with two other businesses: Rogue Tea and Todai Yoga.
That misunderstanding resulted in the city of Olympia issuing the stop work order on Jan. 17.
Colin Bartlett and Corey Doerscher said Wednesday the process was new to them, but that the business is still planning to open Feb. 14.
“It hasn’t meaningfully delayed us,” Bartlett said, adding they had expected to open in January.
In November, Burial Grounds, then located at 211 Fifth Ave. SE., announced it was seeking to raise $30,000 through the fundraising website GoFundMe to help with the move to Capitol Way. The business also became employee-owned on Jan. 1.
After work began on the new space, the city received a noise complaint on Jan. 8, Olympia spokeswoman Kellie Purce Braseth said. City officials couldn’t pinpoint the source of the noise after the first complaint, but did after a second complaint on Jan. 16. They also discovered that Burial Grounds hadn’t applied for permits.
If the owners were merely painting or installing carpet, they wouldn’t need a permit, Braseth said. But because they are changing the use of the space to a destination that will serve coffee and food, they need permits before they can proceed, she said. City officials also have alerted the county health department and the Olympia Fire Department, she said.
Bartlett said the space on Capitol Way has been a photography studio.
Leonard Bauer, deputy director of the city’s community planning and development department, said Wednesday that the city has heard from Burial Grounds about plans to seek permits.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
