Olympia’s Oyster House to soon be reborn

OLYMPIA – The long-awaited project to restore the historic Oyster House in downtown Olympia into the restaurant, bar and outdoor patio destination that it once was, is set to begin next month, the owner and contractor said this week.

The waterfront restaurant at Percival Landing was destroyed in a fire over the summer, reducing the building to a shell, followed by fencing that was erected around the exterior of the building on Fourth Avenue and Sylvester Street.

The building was rapidly on its way to becoming an eyesore after it got tagged with graffiti, but now longtime business owner Tom Barrett, 67, says reconstruction is expected to begin next month.

The plan is to try to make the building look like it did, minus some old timber, which you can’t replace, he said.

The fire, which is thought to have started near a dryer used for kitchen towels, destroyed the business in July.

Barrett said he since has been working with his insurance company – and the insurance money has come through – but it takes time.

“It just doesn’t happen overnight,” he said.

Contractor Greg Bailey said that, depending on the winter weather, he expects to finish up in early summer and “have people on the deck enjoying the Oyster House in mid-June.”