What’s happening to downtown hotel? Plus, a new restaurant is coming to Olympia
The Governor Hotel in downtown Olympia on Capitol Way across from Sylvester Park appears to have closed for a forthcoming renovation, according to a check of the property on Wednesday.
A parking entrance on Capitol Way was fenced off, the automatic sliding doors near the main entrance did not work and the phone number is “temporarily unavailable,” according to a recorded message.
A contractor called Innspace said via social media in late November that work is about to start to turn the property into a Hampton Inn by Hilton.
“The exterior and interior renovation of @hamptonbyhilton Olympia is about to begin, but before it kicks off, Innspace hosted a handful of regional sub-contractors for a property walk,” the Nov. 26 post reads.
“The pandemic hit this property especially hard,” the post reads. “Guest rooms and public spaces will be getting overhauled along with the exterior transitioning to the Hampton Inn brand. We look forward to getting to work on this premiere hotel in Washington State’s capital and sharing our progress along the way.”
Innspace also shows the forthcoming project on its LinkedIn page.
The Olympian has reached out to city of Olympia officials and the property owner for more information.
Stay tuned.
Hector’s coming to Fourth Avenue
A new Tex-Mex restaurant called Hector’s Tacos is set to open in January on Fourth Avenue, according to its Instagram account. The Olympian could not immediately reach the owner.
However, much about the business has already been shared on its website, including an explainer about the term “Tex-Mex.”
“A term coined in the 1960s, Tex-Mex is a recognized regional American cuisine that originated from the culinary creations of Tejano people — Texans of Mexican heritage,” the site reads. “This hybrid food culture blends Mexican cooking techniques with American Southwest ingredients and flavors.”
“Tex-Mex staples include nachos, fajitas, various breakfast tacos, and the incorporation of bbq meats including brisket, barbacoa and chicken with BBQ sauce,” the site reads. “And you’ll always find classic Tex-Mex ‘chili con queso’ or ‘queso’ (melted American cheese with various chili peppers) on the menu.”
Hector’s has sprouted at 1502 Fourth Ave. E.
MultiCare Capital Medical Center opens hybrid operating room
The nonprofit health care system MultiCare, which operates Capital Medical Center in west Olympia, has opened a hybrid operating room at the hospital it acquired in 2021.
Hybrid ORs are in use at other MultiCare hospitals and now it has been introduced here, according to MultiCare officials. It opened Dec. 3 and is part of a $15 million investment in the hospital since it was acquired, said Dr. Rick Rossow.
Rossow, an interventional cardiologist, and Dr. Sara Wasilenko, a vascular surgeon, spoke to The Olympian on Wednesday about the space, which converted two operating rooms into the hybrid OR.
It has been in steady use since Dec. 3, they said.
“The hybrid operating room is a combination of both a general operating room as well as endovascular (procedures inside blood vessels), and we have this amazing technology with Philips that allows us to do a combination of both open-heart procedures as well as endovascular procedures in combination,” said Wasilenko.
Although a range of patients could use the space, it allows surgeons to tackle more complex medical procedures.
Dr. Rossow provided this example.
“Some of our patients, you know, they’re too sick to have open-heart surgery, for example, and we need to put in a heart pump to kind of support the heart while we’re doing our work on the coronary arteries.
“There are scenarios where we’ll work with our vascular surgeons and they’ll do a cut down repair of the vessel, help us get the heart pump into place, and then we go ahead and are able to do our complex multi-vessel coronary intervention on these patients,” he said. “So it’s really an amazing technology that lets us take care of these really sick patients.”
More homes pitched in Tumwater
Tumwater has received a land-use proposal for Anderson Place, an 85 single-family lot and six community tracts development, spread across more than 14 acres, at 2701 and 2719 70th Ave. SW, according to city information.
“The development will include infrastructure, frontage improvements, and open space,” the city information reads.
Care to comment on the proposal? Send those comments by 5 p.m. Jan. 9 to senior planner Alex Baruch at abaruch@ci.tumwater.wa.us.
Hindu temple and cultural center proposed
City information also shows that Tumwater has received a proposal to occupy an existing 1,562-square-foot commercial space for a Hindu temple and cultural center at 210 Tumwater Blvd. SW.
This proposal, too, comes with a comment period. Send them by 5 p.m. Jan. 9 to associate planner Sam Hunter at shunter@ci.tumwater.wa.us.
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 January 2, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
