Olympia’s Darby’s back in business

After a brief hiatus, Darby’s Cafe is open once again.

The Olympia favorite — once featured on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” — is in a new location, sharing a building with sister business Three Magnets Brewing at 600 Franklin St. SE, Suite 105.

The doors of the new location opened Jan. 1.

Cafe co-owner Sara Reilly said the transition to the new space has been surprisingly smooth. Most regular customers have followed the cafe, and several Three Magnets customers have discovered it.

Sara Reilly and her husband, Nate Reilly, purchased Darby’s about 10 years ago when the cafe was on Fifth Avenue. They’ve owned and operated Three Magnets for about a year.

The previous owners had run Darby’s in that location for about five years. It’s hard to move a commercial kitchen that has been in the same spot for 15 years, Sara Reilly said.

“Most people wouldn’t think that moving a restaurant would be so hard,” Reilly said. “But I think we’ve done pretty well.”

Now, Three Magnets and Darby’s employees cook in the same kitchen, which presents another set of challenges. Darby’s is now open 8 a.m.-3 p.m., seven days a week. Three Magnets is open 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

The two operations don’t serve the same food, and Darby’s has control of most of the kitchen while the cafe is open. So from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Three Magnets now serves sandwiches — an operation the Reillys call “3Mag Sammich.”

This gives the kitchen staff time to clean up before Three Magnets begins serving the pub food menu, Sara Reilly said.

“It’s fun to be doing things a little differently,” Sara Reilly said.

But while Darby’s hours and location have changed, the couple hopes to keep the cafe recognizable. Darby’s is furnished with the same tables and artwork as before, and the Wizard of Oz collectibles are still a prominent feature.

Artist David Joel, who painted a mural in the old Darby’s, will provide more art for the new location sometime this year, Sara Reilly said.

“We still want people to walk in and know this is Darby’s,” Sara Reilly said.

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 7:05 AM with the headline "Olympia’s Darby’s back in business."