Walk down Fourth Avenue in downtown Olympia on a Saturday morning, and you'll see something that would have been hard to imagine five years ago: a line out the door at Burial Grounds coffee, a wait for brunch at Basilico, and a farmer's market so packed that the sidewalks overflow into the street.
Downtown Olympia is experiencing something that no one planned but everyone is noticing — a quiet renaissance driven not by corporate development or government programs, but by individual entrepreneurs who believe in the capital city's future.
"I moved my studio here from Seattle because I could actually afford to take a risk," says ceramicist Maya Torres, who opened her workshop and retail space on Capitol Way last year. "The rent is real. The foot traffic is growing. And the community actually shows up for you."
The numbers back up the anecdote. New business applications in downtown Olympia are up 23% over the past two years. Vacancy rates on the main commercial corridors have dropped below 8%, down from nearly 15% during the pandemic. And foot traffic data shows a consistent upward trend, driven partly by the return of state workers and partly by a growing population of remote workers who chose Olympia over more expensive cities.
The mix of new businesses reflects the city's evolving identity. Alongside the coffee shops and restaurants that anchor any downtown, Olympia is seeing a wave of creative businesses: boutique design firms, recording studios, co-working spaces, and specialty retail that caters to the region's outdoor culture. The new REI-anchored development on the waterfront is expected to bring even more foot traffic when it opens next year.
For Visit Olympia & Beyond, the tourism and economic development organization, the trend validates a decade-long strategy of positioning the capital city as more than just "where the legislature meets."
"People are discovering what locals have always known," says their executive director. "Olympia is one of the most livable, creative, affordable small cities on the West Coast. The secret is getting out."
The challenges aren't gone. Housing affordability is a growing concern as more people discover the city. Homelessness remains visible downtown. And some longtime residents worry that growth will change the character of a city that prides itself on being unapologetically weird.
But for the entrepreneurs betting on Fourth Avenue and Capitol Way, the trajectory is clear. Downtown Olympia is back — and it's being rebuilt by the people who live here.