Olympia eatery destroyed by fire

OLYMPIA – A restaurant that calls itself the oldest seafood restaurant in Washington was destroyed early Friday by a two-alarm fire.

A passer-by reported smoke just after midnight at the Oyster House in downtown Olympia, Deputy Fire Chief Greg Wright told the Olympian.

“Crews went inside and on the roof, but weren’t able to get the fire out. The fire overwhelmed the building,” Wright said. “At about 12:45 we went defensive and started pouring water from the outside.”

The restaurant had closed after 10 p.m. Thursday and no one was inside.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and there’s nothing to suggest it’s suspicious, Wright said.

One firefighter suffered a burned hand and was treated at the scene.

The restaurant says on its website it is the old culling house of the original Olympia Oyster Co., which was formed prior to 1900. The original owners started a small seafood bar in a corner of the building.

The restaurant was established in 1924, and the current owners took over in 1995.

The owner says he’ll rebuild.