Dancing GoatsDancing Goats is one of the newer cafes to open in Tacoma. Post COVID coffee is hitting downtown Tacoma in waves and it’s got a few more surprises but Dancing Goats finally making its way to Tacoma is huge. First opened in our state capital Olympia, WA in 1988 it’s very much a heritage brand to WA although in an effort to scale the business it was moved to Atlanta to grow the roasting side of the company early on in the 90’s. It’s actually pretty cool they are just entering the Tacoma area. There’s something to be said about waiting for the right time and focusing on what makes sense until an attractive opportunity presents itself. And the Brewery Blocks is that opportunity. Their location at the entrance and next to the neighborhood signage is definitely an advantage. But their own branding is eye-catching and brightly colored as well. 

I have always said that Tacoma is a sandwich town but when the owners of the outpost, originally Outpost Kitchen now Outpost Sandwiches, first moved to downtown Tacoma they were right options for a unprocessed sandwich were dismal and unexciting. Tacoma is fortunate they decided to do something about it. Since their opening Outpost continues to grow as a staple in the downtown Tacoma lunch service. It was interesting to see the growth in real time. It felt as though it was all word-of-mouth. Someone would leave the office on a lunch adventure and return to the office with a sandwich sleeved in parchment paper and I’m sure the questions arose. “Oh, that’s smells good, oh where did you find that? Oh, how much was it? Oh, how long have they been around?” Eventually, the questions stopped and the praise began, local clothier and community business eTc Tacoma has collaborated with their downtown neighbor Outpost in the past as well. Outpost has also done community outreach and given back through portions of proceeds going to feeding kids for the Summer via specialty lunch meals, put together for Daz Deal community programming another downtown activation. The owners are a handsome couple and one treat of the experience is seeing how in unison they are preparing lunch orders, call-in orders and moving seamlessly together. The food is so good they’ve even had IG accounts start their content rollout with just their sandwich offering. There’s a lot of reasons to love this business if you can find it.

There’s almost too many good things to say about the Grand Cinema in Tacoma. At its core function, it stands for art with a hyper focus on cinema in the best way. It’s a nonprofit, providing a pathway to pop culture while keeping its doors and programming open to local and international film enthusiast, supporters, directors, and film industry professionals. All of that speaks to and sticks to the heritage that began at the Grand Cinema, once the Grand Theatre, in 1997. Two years prior in 1995 the cinema was closed after being freshly built, but was saved and turned into a nonprofit by to Tacoman film enthusiasts. Since then it’s functioned well, and only continues to stay head of the curve culturally while doing its civic duty, provide entertainment and service, at a high-level.

Home In Tacoma For All | Thursday, Dec. 8Housing is a human right. Can we start with that? If we can, then we can move on to the myriad ways in which this right is distorted and kept from the vulnerable people who need it. Home in Tacoma is an organization that is working to address this in the face of opposition that seems to view those without access to housing as – without failure – drug addicts and violent criminals.The problem is that housing has become an asset that has been priced out of the attainability of all but the most fortunate citizens. As Home in Tacoma have reported, Tacoma’s average rent saw a nearly 40% increase from March of 2021 to March of 2022, meaning that so many people have had to resort to treading water by sleeping in cars, motel rooms, or tents. As we enter the cold months of Tacoma, it’s heartbreaking to consider how many people are being left out to fend for themselves, and the cruel mindset that keeps them that way.In an effort to provide some sort of relief, ALMA is hosting Home in Tacoma for their “Home in Tacoma For All'' show, featuring some amazing acts that showcase a pretty wide swath of Tacoma’s artistic expression.