Craft Meal Collection bringing ‘grab and go’ — and no commute — to E Olive Way

Le and Fintak sold their Tacoma cafe, took some time to travel, and are jumping back in with something new on E Olive Way — and no commute

Rebecca Fintak and Anh Le seem to be going about life in a pretty good way as they add a new cafe and concept to E Olive Way. They sold a coffee shop, eliminated their Tacoma commute, traveled Asia, then Mexico, then Asia some more. And, then, they scored a lease on Capitol Hill in a space they hope will be the perfect home for Craft Meal Collection, a new “grab and go deli” that seems ready to push beyond basics with specialities like Hainanese Chicken, Japanese Chicken Curry, or veggie lasagna also ready to fill their stacks of to-go containers.

“We really just wanna make a cool, convenient place for people to pick up meals on their way to work or school or on their way home  and just make it a nice convenient option, something that we can keep the price low and quality high,” Fintak said.

Fintak tells CHS she and her partner Le sold Cremello Café in Tacoma last year after tiring of the grind of the commute from Seattle to the City of Destiny. The sale gave the couple time for a break to do some global traveling and build energy for creating CMC.

The corner of E Olive Way and E Howell was waiting for them. CHS reported here last year as the longtime food and drink space was shuttered with the closure of the Gold Bar and Afterlife bar and club projects. Gold Bar moved in where Jewish and Eastern European-flavored Dacha Diner closed abruptly in 2022. Before that, it had been The Saint.

It is a densely populated food and drink neighborhood including The Crescent, Hula Hula, Montana, Revolver, Hillside, and Dino’s. Chef José Garzón opened Bad Chancla in the area in 2024, Laurel also joined the mix in the former Crumble and Flake space while Aamrai Indian Kitchen & Bar has moved in around the corner on Bellevue Ave.

While Craft Meal Collection’s focus around grab and go meals might cater more to the daytime flow, the area’s strong nightlife vibes are being explored. Fintak and Le did a test run of a steak and frites night on St. Patrick’s weekend with no marketing but utility pole flyers to gauge possibilities around late night hours. For now, Fintak said the steak and frites night was, if nothing else, a good way to meet quite a few of the neighborhood’s bartenders who wandered in to meet the new neighbors.

Much of the rest of CMC is also a work in progress. The plan, in the long run, is to fully use the two-level space with a counter and retail including prepared meals and Asian snacks up top, and a seating and hangout area below.

Business planning for the venture is as much retail as restaurant. In that regard, CMC fits in a trend for some new food and drink projects on Capitol Hill that are taking on the city’s high rents and higher costs with two-pronged business plans. CHS reported here on Kha-Bar’s launch on 12th Ave as its owners built out a colorful restaurant and bar for customers while also making the kitchen the center of a delivered meal service for offices and busy families — all of it, or course, with Kha-Bar’s take on Bengali flavors.

The building back in its colorful The Saint days

The dual ventures come amid the growth of commercial “ghost kitchens” including the Cap Hill Kitchens facility on 14th Ave from the nationwide CloudKitchens network of delivery-focused food prep facilities.

As owners like Fintak and Le do the math, some are deciding that it makes more sense to develop your own space and kitchen. There are also perks like meeting the neighbors.

As Fintak and Le prepare for Craft Meal Connection to be their next thing after their coffee shop’s long run, they are keeping their plans efficient and simple. They are planning Wednesday this week for a full opening but, for now, it will be only the couple running things in front and back.

“Just starting out, we’re going to be open from 8 AM to 4 PM. We really do initially plan to just be me and my partner. And then as soon as we see, like, even a speck of demand for an employee, we’re going to start hiring right away,” Fintak says.

“Start with a small, slow growth, slow and steady, and really master the food that we’re putting out and then, yeah, grow from there.”

Craft Meal Collection is now open at 1416 E Olive Way. Follow @craftmealcollection to keep track of updates and to order online.

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