Mari Pasos-Quarello couldn't find a place to buy a slice of cake in the evening in downtown Olympia.

So she opened one.

Tender Velvet Rebel Oven, a bakery inside the 222 Market building at 222 Capitol Way N, has been selling cakes, cupcakes and savory biscuits since November 2025. The shop held its grand opening on Saturday, July 18, and is already hiring a baker and counter help after five months of steady growth.

Mari runs the business with her wife, Mych Pasos-Quarello, who designed most of the bakery's branding. The couple's hours buck the early-morning bakery norm: Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (or earlier on Sundays if they sell out). Mari hopes to add Wednesday hours within the next couple of months once new staff are trained.

"If you're going to eat sweets … at least the ingredients should be high quality," Mari told ThurstonTalk. "I think people can taste the difference."

She sources organic flour from Skagit Valley and pasture-raised eggs from Spotted Frog Farms, a small family-owned operation on Case Road Southwest in Olympia. That commitment traces back to her studies at The Evergreen State College, where she focused on food systems and local organic sourcing after years of professional kitchen work in the Bay Area.

The menu leans into creamy, layered flavors: brown butter cream cheese frosting, guava cream with a guava milk soak, pistachio mascarpone, pistachio white chocolate ganache and diplomat cream. Offerings include cake by the slice, tres leches cake cups, Basque cheesecake, brownies, cookies and savory biscuits, plus flavored matcha, hojicha and a few coffee and tea drinks.

Cake names carry Mari's personality. The Bruce Bruce chocolate cake nods to the Roald Dahl "Matilda" character forced to eat an enormous chocolate cake. The Bougie B–ch Pistachio speaks for itself.

The name Tender Velvet Rebel Oven started as just "Rebel Oven," reflecting what Mari described to ThurstonTalk as her rebellious streak. She added words describing the textures she loves in pastry and couldn't choose between them, so she kept them all.

The evening hours put Tender Velvet Rebel Oven alongside neighbors Sophie's Scoops, Chelsea Farms Oyster Bar and Dos Hermanos Mexican Kitchen, all of which stay open into the evening inside the 222 Market building. For Mari, the choice was personal: she wanted a spot where residents could grab dessert on a weeknight without resorting to a grocery store.

When the business outgrows its current space, Mari plans to add pies, sandwiches and more biscuits, including a gravy-stuffed version.

Tender Velvet Rebel Oven is open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., at 222 Capitol Way N inside the 222 Market building. Phone: (360) 350-0302.