Olympia berry stand may be forced to close after 47 years as city plans community park in its place
Sep 16, 2026, 7:57 AM | Updated: 7:57 am
A photo of strawberries. (Photo: Julian Finney, Getty Images)
(Photo: Julian Finney, Getty Images)
Spooner Berry Farms may be forced to close after 47 years on Yelm Highway as the City of Olympia moves forward with plans for a community park that doesn’t include the stand.
Owners Tim and Sue Spooner have been working together for more than 30 years at the family-owned berry shop, but are now fighting to keep its legacy alive.
“Tim and I don’t ‘need’ to farm, we do it after all these years, as a sense of commitment to our longtime employees and our much-loved community!” Spooner Berry Farms wrote on social media.
The owners outlined the city’s plans to build a park that would leave their berry stand out of the conversation, despite it being a “staple of the community.”
“There is no reason that we can’t co-exist with a park and berry stand,” the company wrote.
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Owners ask supporters to join them at Olympia City Hall to fight for the stand’s survival
Supporters of the stand were asked to join the owners at Olympia City Hall on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. in an effort to plead their case for building the park with the berry stand and “let the City Council know how you feel about the city telling us to leave.”
For Tim and Sue, the pending decision may be the end of the farm, as the two have no plans to reopen elsewhere.
“If this berry stand needs to go, a good possibility we will be done, as this is the main hub to our existence,” the company shared.
Spooner Farms noted that it has been leasing the property located at 3327 Yelm Highway SE since 1983 and has never owned the plot of land on which it currently sits.
The City of Olympia purchased the property under what the owners say was an agreement that the berry stand would always remain there. Now, the company stated that new city employees have taken over and are asking them to leave.
In a post on Sept. 1, the company confirmed the end of its 2026 berry season, noting it had sold out of some products due to high demand.
“We are a big part of this community and a ‘community park’ shouldn’t be chasing us away,” Spooner Farms wrote. “We love this neighborhood.”
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