Olympia Coffee Plans New Location in Columbia City | Eater Seattle

"South Seattle should get ready for a big caffeine boost: Olympia Coffee, the chain from Washington’s capital that has won barista competitions and awards for its fair trade–focused brews, is planning to open a 1,750-square-foot Seattle flagship in Columbia City this winter. Located on Rainier Avenue and South Edmunds Street in a historic 1920s building (the former Starbucks), the space will house a cafe, a training facility, and a community room for local businesses and nonprofits, with an expanded menu of pastries and small bites still in the works. This will be Olympia Coffee’s second Seattle-area location after a West Seattle expansion in 2018, and it hopes to stand out through an intricate roasting process that caramelizes the sugars within the coffee beans for sweeter, smoother brews and by experimenting with concoctions like iced coffee with tonic, house-made coconut syrup, and candied lemon. On Instagram they announced the Columbia City shop will feature sandwiches and salads from Seattle-based Homegrown and okazu pan from Japanese street-food purveyors Umami Kushi." - Gabe Guarente