Bicycle business closing, area hospitals avoid layoffs, Chinese dumpling eatery opens
Joy Ride Bikes, which operated a store in two Lacey locations over the past 24 years, is closing this summer, the business announced in an email to customers and on social media.
Co-owner Will Trogden said Wednesday the last day of business will be July 25.
Although the business started in a different location, it has spent the last 15 years at a site near Ruddell Road at Lacey Boulevard.
The bike seller currently is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. But after July 4, the business will be open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for two weeks and then just Thursday and Friday the week of July 25, Trogden said.
“We are retiring from the bike business,” Trogden said. He said there were other factors that played into their decision to close, but he declined to elaborate on them.
“All good things come to an end,” he said.
The email reminds customers to use any gift cards by June 28.
“We really want to say a huge thank you for your business,” the email reads. “Over the years, our staff at Joy Ride has thoroughly enjoyed supporting our varied customer base — from commuters, to racers, to family-outing-goers, to the BMX crowd, to MTB/Road enthusiasts, and to the low-to-the-ground 3-wheelers. The connections we’ve made with each of you mean the world to us.”
Dough Zone opens
The Chinese dumpling restaurant known as Dough Zone opened its Lacey location on Thursday, the business announced. The eatery already has more than a dozen locations throughout the Seattle area where customers wait hours for a table.
The Lacey site is in the Hogum Bay Town Center north of Interstate 5. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, according to the website.
Providence’s Olympia, Centralia hospitals avoid layoffs
Renton-based Providence will trim its 125,000-strong workforce by 600 full-time equivalent positions across seven states, the nonprofit health system has announced.
However, layoffs tied to that announcement are not happening at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia and Providence Centralia Hospital in Lewis County, spokesman Chris Thomas told The Olympian.
“No impacts at Centralia or St. Peter,” he said.
“Where possible, affected individuals are being redeployed into other positions at Providence, which currently has more than 5,000 open roles,” health system officials said in the news release. “Transitional resources are also being provided to those who are impacted.
“The affected roles are primarily in non-clinical, administrative functions, though some patient-care roles are also impacted,” the news release reads.
Why make these cuts?
“Like other health systems, the Providence family of organizations is responding to multiple pressures facing health care, including proposed federal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, ongoing denials and delayed payments from commercial insurers, higher labor costs due to new staffing laws in some West Coast states, and higher costs for pharmaceuticals and supplies due to inflation and tariffs.”
And then there were none
Thurston County used to be home to five Rite Aid stores, and now all of them have either closed or are closing. The business has sought protection from creditors by filing bankruptcy twice now.
The first bankruptcy filing closed Lacey stores on Martin Way and on Sleater Kinney Road Southeast, a space that currently is being renovated for a “specialty grocer,” according to city of Lacey information.
The second filing resulted in announcements that Rite Aid stores in Yelm, west Olympia and a third store in Lacey at 4776 Whitman Lane SE., off Yelm Highway and College Street, also will close.
Real estate
The Tumwater Walmart on Littlerock Road wants to expand its online pickup delivery area, according to city of Tumwater information.
City information also shows that Everett-based Sage Homes Northwest LLC is exploring a development of 57 single-family homes in the 2300 block of Trosper Road. They are calling the proposal Trosper Grove.
In both instances, business representatives are meeting with the city’s Development Review Committee, which provides feedback on local government expectations for development proposals before they become official.
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.
