More than a dozen restaurants, bakeries and market vendors line a single mile of Capitol Way between the Capitol Campus and the Olympia Farmers Market.
A new anonymous food column on Oly Arts cataloged the stretch in its second installment, published Monday, Sept. 7.
"The Phantom of the Diner," written by an author identified only as "The Phantom," traces the route downhill from the East Plaza of the Capitol Campus to the market at 700 Capitol Way N. The column dubs the block between 5th Avenue and Legion Way "Restaurant Row."
That block includes Nom Nom Deli, the Vietnamese bánh mì shop at 513 Capitol Way S owned by David Huynh; the Italian restaurant Basillico; Uptown Grill; and Pizzeria La Gitana.
Farther up the hill, the column flags Mi Luna, a Cuban café, and Wagner's European Bakery at 1013 Capitol Way S.
Two blocks past Restaurant Row, the 222 Market building at 222 Capitol Way N anchors a cluster of food businesses.
Chelsea Farms Oyster Bar, operated by siblings Shina Wysocki and Kyle Lentz, opened there in 2016. Their parents, Linda and John Lentz, started the shellfish farm in 1987, growing oysters on Eld and Totten Inlet in South Puget Sound.
"We normally feature between eight and eleven different types, so probably the biggest selection in the region," general manager Amilia Forsberg said in a profile published by Experience Olympia.
The walk ends at the Olympia Farmers Market. The vendor-owned market is the second-largest in Washington, according to the Experience Olympia tourism bureau, and runs Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., through October.
The column names more than a dozen market vendors. San Francisco Street Bakery has operated from 1320 San Francisco Ave. NE for over 30 years and supplies bread wholesale to Chelsea Farms and other South Sound businesses, according to the bakery's website.
Johnson's Berry Farm, established in 1975 and certified organic since 1991, sells more than 100 varieties of jams, jellies and syrups alongside fresh seasonal berries at its market stall, according to the farm's site. Owner Jim Johnson has sold at the market since the farm's founding.
Other vendors the column spotlights include Blue Heron Bakery, Kawaii Donut House, Olympia Pickling Company, Wild Hearth Sipping Vinegars and two dairy producers from outside Thurston County: TUNaWERTH Creamery of Oakville and Domina Dairy of Onalaska.
One vendor is on its way out. OlyKraut, a fermented-sauerkraut maker, has its final market day on Nov. 9, according to the Olympia Farmers Market's Facebook page.
Part one of the column published Friday, Sept. 4. The Farmers Market's fall season continues Thursday through Sunday through October, then shifts to weekends only through December.
