Coffee, Knives and Refills: South 11th Is Throwing a Block Party

Downtown Tacoma is about to get a very Tacoma kind of block party—one involving locally roasted coffee, professionally sharpened kitchen knives, refillable shampoo and three independent businesses that have landed within a few doors of one another.

Civic Roasters, Hive Provisions + Refillery and Tacoma Knife Sharpening & Mercantile will celebrate their South 11th Street storefronts with a “Triple Grand Opening” from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, September 19.

Organizers plan to close part of Fawcett Avenue near South 11th Street for the public celebration, which will include food, drinks, a DJ and local artists. Visitors will also be able to meet the owners and explore the three shops.

The businesses make an unusually complementary trio.

Civic Roasters has opened its first permanent brick-and-mortar home at 508B South 11th Street after years of building its business without a dedicated storefront. The mission-driven specialty roaster focuses on ethically and sustainably sourced coffee, roasted in small batches.

Just a few doors away, Hive Provisions + Refillery recently reopened at 504B South 11th Street after closing its former South Tacoma Way shop in 2025. The modern general store sells books, gifts and products from small independent makers, but its most unusual feature is the refillery.

Customers can bring clean containers and fill them with household and personal-care products such as shampoo, body wash and laundry detergent—buying what they need without purchasing another disposable package.

Next door at 502 South 11th Street, Tacoma Knife Sharpening & Mercantile combines a professional sharpening service with a specialty kitchen store. Operated by a chef and a potter, the shop carries culinary knives, cutting boards, cookware, pantry goods, pottery and gifts for people who enjoy cooking and entertaining.

The three businesses also share a connection to Spaceworks Tacoma. Each participated in the organization’s small-business programs, which provide training, coaching and other support to creative entrepreneurs attempting to turn their ideas into sustainable businesses.

That connection makes the September 19 celebration more than three unrelated ribbon cuttings. It offers a glimpse of what can happen when several distinctive local businesses take root close enough to support one another.

A customer who arrives for coffee can discover a low-waste general store next door. Someone dropping off a dull chef’s knife can browse locally made gifts or refill a bottle of laundry detergent before heading home. Together, the shops give people more reasons to visit—and linger on—a downtown block that many Tacomans ordinarily pass without stopping.

The Triple Grand Opening takes place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, September 19, near South 11th Street and Fawcett Avenue.

For more information about the Triple Grand Opening event, click here.