Caffe Piccolo to relocate within downtown Camas

“I am excited to be in the heart of downtown with such an awesome set of new neighbors.”

— Jodi Vaughan

A local coffee shop owner who was concerned whether she would find a new space within downtown Camas has successfully ended her search.

Jodi Vaughan, with Caffe Piccolo, closed the shop Saturday, at 309 N.E. Birch St.

She will re-open it at the former Haley’s Flowers space, at 400 N.E. Fourth Ave., in mid-April.

Haley’s owners, Sheryl and Scott Malfait, have relocated that floral shop and merged it with their other business, Flowers Washougal, at 1203 “E” St.

Vaughan, a Camas resident since 2000, said she is ecstatic about the new corner location along Fourth Avenue.

“I am excited to be in the heart of downtown with such an awesome set of new neighbors,” she said.

Vaughan has signed a lease with the building owner, Gary Ostenson.

She said there are some basic improvements that are being made to convert the space to food service.

Vaughan and three employees worked at the recently closed coffee shop location. She said she will hire another barista or two.

Vaughan plans to expand the menu to include more “grab and go” items for breakfast, lunch and snacks. as well as gluten-free, pastries and savory items.

“We also will offer more specialty teas and tea-based drinks, as customer demand for tea continues to grow,” she said. “We hope to bring in some of the specialty lemonade and iced tea beverages we served exclusively at the Camas Farmer’s Market in the past.”

The new location will offer expanded sidewalk seating.

“I can’t put into words how grateful I am of the outpouring of support from our customers, downtown businesses, city officials, the DCA, the chamber and other community members over the last several months,” Vaughan said. “It has simply re-enforced why Camas is such a great community and why we chose to raise our family here and open businesses here.”

She and her husband, Doug, also own SNAP Fitness, in Camas, Woodland and Battle Ground.

Big plans for Birch Street

Meanwhile, Kevin Taylor, owner of Birch Street Uptown Lounge, plans to start a construction project at the former Caffe Piccolo space Wednesday.

“We will renovate as much as possible over there with no impact on our current customer space,” he said. “One of the more complex parts of the job will be putting a support beam in, to replace a 21-foot section of wall that now separates the two areas. Our plan is to get that part in place also before we take the wall down.

“This is a 1928 building, and we expect we’ll find some surprises once we begin construction and will work our way through them,” Taylor added.

He plans to have the wall demolition occur during the hours that the lounge is closed.

Taylor hopes to have minimum down time, depending on dust control and cleanup.

“I think we will be very busy for a few weeks here,” he said. “Our goal is to be in full operation in the expanded space, by early May.”

Taylor agreed in December 2014 to delay the start of a remodeling project for 90 days, in order to give Vaughan time to relocate her business.

She has said she was surprised when she received a letter from her landlord, Bob Angelo, on Nov. 1, 2014, stating that he would not renew her lease for Jan. 1.

Birch Street Uptown Lounge, 311 N.E. Birch St., is open daily, from 4 p.m. to midnight. For more information, call 210-7219 or visit www.birchstreetuptownlounge.com.