Business Community

Crowd backs Olalla Bay Market at Kitsap commissioners meeting

Olalla residents, waving signs that read “Gathering Places Matter” and “Save Olalla Bay Market,” flooded the Kitsap County commissioners meeting Monday, supporting the popular grocery store and community space after its owners submitted a well publicized complaint against the county.

Over an hour of public comments, residents told commissioners the market was a crucial gathering space for the small rural community. Applause filled the room after each speaker left the podium. They were quick to praise owners Gregg and Claudia Olsen for their investment in devotion.

“What Gregg’s done with the Olalla Bay Market is exactly what we’ve been searching for,” said Michael Horntvedt of Olalla. “Gregg opened it up and made it a space for people to come in, share their talents, share their laughter, share their joy, sing and be in community. That kind of a space is invaluable, particularly these days.”

Tort claim

The outpouring of support comes after Olsen submitted a tort claim against the county on Aug. 2, requesting a combined $35 million in damages. The county has 60 days to settle the claim or Olsen can file a lawsuit.

In the claim, Olsen alleges his business was the target of hundreds of frivolous complaints from a neighboring homeowner who works for the county. He argues the county was negligent to the credibility of those complaints and used them to interfere with market operations.

“He had enough of false claims not being investigated,” Olsen’s attorney Anne Bremner told the Kitsap Sun last week. “It was an array of complaints being taken at face value.”

A county spokesperson previously declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Olsen, an author, purchased the market property in February 2021 with his wife, Claudia, and daughter, Marta Drevniak. The space includes an old post office and a historic market formerly known as Al’s of Olalla.

The Olsens redeveloped the old post office into a meeting space and small museum of Olalla artifacts, dubbed The Landing, that opened in 2022. The Olalla Bay Market, a grocery store and restaurant, followed in April 2023.

Community rallied after fire

By several accounts, the Olsen’s have garnered widespread support from the community since purchasing property. When a fire ignited during a remodel and destroyed kitchen appliances, the community raised nearly $60,000 through a fundraiser and cornhole tournament.

“When I found out the Olsen family bought Al’s Market in 2021, I was so grateful and excited that I visited every week during demolition and reconstruction to bring cookies and other treats to the various work crews,” one commenter said Monday. “They must have thought I was pretty weird.”

For decades, market namesake Al Robbecke and his family ran the space, providing a butcher shop, grocery store and community space that has been described as the “heart and soul of Olalla”. Al’s son, John took over when he retired in 1984.

An out-of-town investment firm bought the market after John’s death in 2010. It changed hands several times before the Kitsap Public Health District shut it down in 2020. 

‘Enhanced our lives’

On Monday, commenters said the once-great space deteriorated over the years. But that changed after the Olsen’s invested in it. 

“We did have great things down there, but people passed away, things changed and they got really bad for a long time,” Joanne Clark, who described herself as a lifelong Olalla resident, said Monday. The Olsens “really enhanced our lives in Olalla.”