By Kelli Samson
It was the no-frills courier font on the logo that grabbed me.
The clean lines reminiscent of a page freshly inked from a typewriter told me that I just might like what was inside.
It was a hunch, but, like most hunches, it didn’t disappoint.
Michael Elvin began dreaming of opening his own coffee shop soon after he graduated from high school “a million years ago,” long before coffee shops were hip. Elvin now owns and operates, along with his wife, Mariella Luz, downtown’s most European coffee joint, Bar Francis.
The shop has occupied a small, light-filled space between Old School Pizzeria and Dumpster Values in downtown Olympia since late October 2014. Its style is of a sparse, Industrial-meets-Scandinavian sort, and its ambiance really works. The walls are bare and white, the tables and bar are custom-made of gorgeous wood by the talented folks at Von Roney Woodworks. The drinks are served in charming, mismatched vintage cups from an espresso cart made by Elvin himself.
Coffee beans and teas are stored on open shelving behind the bar in glass jars. What you see is what you get at Bar Francis. Even Elvin and his sole employee, Fraoigh Howard, are unpretentious, possessing an ability to put anyone at ease.
“Our focus is on good beverages, not just coffee,” explains Elvin, who developed menu items and drink ideas for years before he had his own shop.
“I knew I wanted shrubs on my menu, and they’ve become one of our staples. Another summer beverage we came up with is a coffee cola, which is dark brown sugar muddled with a lime wedge, along with cold-brewed coffee, sparkling water, ice, and a sprig of mint. It’s not very sweet. It’s light, refreshing, crisp, and has some cola-like flavors to it.”
Pre-fabricated ingredients are not used at Bar Francis. You will find no cartons of chai concentrate here, and all the produce used to make drink ingredients is organic. “We believe these practices make for a higher-quality beverage which we have control over,” explains Elvin.
Bar Francis is named for the four-year-old son of the owners, whose middle name is Francis. “It was my wife’s brilliant idea,” smiles Elvin.
Elvin’s Bar Francis inhabits a story steeped in the practices of holding tightly to a dream and building a skill set that is wide instead of higher-climbing. Elvin did not put himself on a fast-track to own his own coffee shop. Rather, he took over twenty years to learn all the facets to the business, from innovation to espresso machines, and from design to employee training. He brewed and percolated his dream slowly, making important local connections along the way.
“My first job in coffee was as Christmas help at Starbucks in the early 1990s,” recalls Elvin. From there, he ran The Temple of the Bean in Tacoma for nearly three years, followed by tending bar at Olympia hotspots Thekla and the Water Street Cafe. Somewhere in there was a stint in website design. Elvin also has worked in the training and education department at Olympia’s Batdorf and Bronson. His path then took him to the Espresso Parts store and the Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, where he served as a general manager.
Bar Francis has been a team effort, with many Olympia players contributing pieces to its success. Ira Coyne painted the sign that sits near the corner of Franklin and Fourth Avenue, along with the shop’s name on the front door. Baked goods are supplied by local bakeries Left Bank, Babette’s (best pumpkin bread ever), and the Bearded Lady. The design work is artfully done by local Rhett Nelson.
And no words about Bar Francis would be complete without mentioning Northern, a space for young people to showcase both music and art, from which Bar Francis began operation in 2012.
Spending time with Elvin impresses upon me that Olympia is headed in the right direction. With people like him owning and operating honest, straight-forward businesses that bring joy and comfort to the people who happen by (or seek him out – he has many regulars), downtown Olympia will always shine.
“With all its quirks, I love downtown. I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Elvin concludes.
110 Franklin NE in downtown Olympia
Open 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. weekdays and 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. weekends
