New restaurant eyes Olympia, travel center gets makeover, housing pitched on Littlerock Road

A sub shop is gone and now a Mexican/Indian fusion restaurant wants to take its place, according to a “coming soon” sign affixed to the building.

The business is called Bollywood Burrito & Bowl and it wants to fill a vacancy in the Olympia Square shopping center.

Unfamiliar with that location?

The center flanks Pacific Avenue at Fones Road; the north side is anchored by Albertsons.

The Bollywood restaurant aims to occupy space that is at the west end of the center. It was once home to the fast-food Subway chain and later an independent sub shop that closed.

The Olympian reached out to a representative of Olympia Square, but was unable to reach the Bollywood owner.

Stay tuned.

Other business happenings

The Pilot travel center on 93rd Avenue Southwest in Tumwater has had a curb to counter remodel, the business announced.

The face lift is part of a modernization initiative that the business calls “new horizons.”

“New Horizons is a multi-year, $1 billion initiative to modernize more than 400 Pilot, Flying J and One9 travel center locations across the United States and Canada,” company officials said in a news release.

What’s changed at the Tumwater location? It now has:

▪ Refreshed restrooms and showers.

▪ A new kitchen for guests.

▪ Three new self-checkouts.

▪ New public laundry facilities.

▪ A remodeled Subway and a remodeled Cinnabon.

The Lacey Food Truck Depot, a collection of food trucks that can be found at Lacey Boulevard and Lebanon Street, has earned a Washington Economic Development Association award for diversity, equity and inclusion, the organization announced.

“To help these start-up businesses, many of which were minority-owned, the city of Lacey created a Food Truck Depot pilot program,” a news release reads. “In the first year of the program, the city provided the site free of charge, to help reduce cost barriers.

Now, the city has successfully secured six food trucks, representing Hispanic, Filipino, Jamaican, Black and woman-owned businesses.

“It’s a testament to the collective dedication of our city, community members, businesses, and leaders in championing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Lacey Economic Development Coordinator, Wesley Nguyen, in a statement. “We are committed to creating a city where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.”

Are your friends, relatives or children visiting your home in Thurston County for spring break? Well, Experience Olympia & Beyond, the area’s visitor and convention bureau, has some suggestions, including destinations for a sweet treat.

Some places to consider: Sofie’s Scoops Gelateria downtown, The Nom Nom Stop on College Street in Lacey, Humble Cow Ice Cream off Henderson Boulevard in Olympia or Sweetlee’s Ice Cream in the newly opened Tumwater Craft District on Capitol Boulevard. For specialty donuts and malasadas, there’s also Oly’s Malasadas, which is on Fourth Avenue in Olympia, east of Plum Street.

Real estate

A developer has submitted a land-use application to build Trestlewood, a 117-unit proposal to bring homes and townhomes to 8114 Littlerock Road SW, Thurston County announced.

The location is in Tumwater’s urban growth area.

“The applicant seeks approval of a division of land for 117 dwelling units consisting of 83 single-family units and 34 townhome units,” the county information reads. “The proposal would require an approved Class IV Forest Land Conversion permit and a state Environmental Policy Act review process. The estimated volume of timber to be harvested is approximately 135,000 board feet over approximately 22.29 acres. The parcels total 24.84 acres: 20.72 acres of which are zoned Single Family Low Density and 7.81 acres of which are zoned Single Family Medium Density.

The comment period ends at 4 p.m. March 21. Send your comments to Associate Planner Lacy Garner at lacy.garner@co.thurston.wa.us.

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If you know of a retailer, restaurant, coffee shop or other business that is opening, closing, expanding, remodeling, or changing its focus, send an email to reporter Rolf Boone at rboone@theolympian.com.