A national chicken wing chain opened its second Thurston County restaurant Friday, Aug. 21, while a popular local burger food truck is pursuing a permanent building near Tumwater.
Wingstop's new location at 1620 Cooper Point Road SW, Suite 230, sits in a west Olympia shopping center alongside Half Price Books. The chain opened its first Thurston County spot in Yelm in January at 937 W. Yelm Ave.
Buns of Glory wants a drive-thru
Buns of Glory, the burger food truck at 2915 Yelm Highway SE, is pursuing a brick-and-mortar location with a drive-thru at the proposed Costco development near Tumwater Boulevard in Tumwater.
Co-owner Jereme Johnson told The Olympian in July that a permanent space would let the team work faster and get customers out of the heat.
"I think people would rather come indoors … And with a bigger space and a more efficient kitchen, we could actually turn food faster," Johnson said in the July interview.
Johnson and co-owner Jon McCaslin, friends who met on the golf course, launched the food truck in summer 2025. The proposed Costco site at 2413 73rd Ave. SW would bring a 166,000-square-foot store, about 23,000 square feet larger than the existing Costco on Littlerock Road SW. No timeline has been announced for the development or for Buns of Glory's move.
KGY building draws reuse proposal
Across town, University of Washington architecture student Nora Yao has proposed turning the historic KGY radio station building at the Port of Olympia into either a community meeting house or a waterfront history cafe and bar.
The midcentury modern structure, built on a waterfront pier, has been under Port ownership since Dec. 31, 2024, after KGY chose not to renew its land lease and moved operations to the Evergreen Plaza building downtown.
A structural assessment found the building in fair condition with estimated repair costs of about $230,000, according to the Port of Olympia.
The Port has said any decisions about the building's future will wait until its Port Peninsula Integrated Master Plan is completed, expected by mid-2027. It's unclear whether Yao's proposal is a class project or a formal submission to the Port.
Patio and food truck notes
Three Magnets Brewing Co., behind the old Capitol Building, no longer operates its own kitchen. Rotating food trucks now serve patrons at the brewery's dog-friendly outdoor seating. Dog-friendly patio dining is also available at Mercato Ristorante across from the Olympia Farmers Market, and the Olympia Oyster House patio stays open through September.
