The brick building at 108 E. Washington St. in Napavine has been a lot of things in the 100 or so years since it was built.
“I heard post office, dog grooming, gourmet hot dog stand, DVD store, like a cowboy boutique … and I’m sure there’s more,” said Tasha Landram, who is now leasing the building with her husband, Jeremy, for a new venture called the Tumac Taproom.
The couple had fond memories hanging out at taprooms in Bend, Oregon, so they decided to try and replicate that setting in Napavine when they moved a little over a year ago, Tasha Landram said.
“We just kind of thought it'd be cool to have a place for people to get together,” Landram said. “With the place that we loved in where we used to live, it was one of the only businesses that was open during COVID. So it was just a good (place to) get away and get to be around people.”
Of Tumac Taproom's seven employees, five are teachers or counselors at Napavine School District.
“So we were eager to be here in the summer, but now after our first week of school we’re like, ‘Does anyone want my shift?” Tasha Landram joked with a Chronicle reporter on Friday.
Jeremy Landram has experience as a business owner, but Tumac Taproom is the couple’s first venture into starting up a taproom.
“It’s just trial and error. We’re still learning,” Tasha Landram said.
The Napavine community has strongly supported Tumac Taproom since it opened earlier this summer, turning out in droves on weekends when the taproom broadcasts local high school games in addition to college sports and Mariners or Seahawks games on the weekends.
Jeremy Landram used to coach basketball at Napavine High School, with several of his former players now tending Tumac Taproom’s bar.
Tumac Taproom boasts 16 different beers and ciders on tap, most of which were locally-sourced in the Pacific Northwest. As a non-alcoholic option, Tumac Taproom always has Pepsi in stock, in honor of Tasha Landram’s father, who passed away unexpectedly last May.
“He didn’t drink beer, but he loved Pepsi, so we have lots of Pepsi on hand,” she said.
Landram’s father, who was an avid horseback rider and snowmobiler, also inspired the taproom’s name.
“His favorite mountain was the Tumac Mountain, so that’s why we named it Tumac,” said Landram.
A metal silhouette of the Tumac Mountain embedded into the wooden wall behind the bar serves as the taproom’s centerpiece.
Aside from installing that decorative element and building the wooden bar, Landram said they didn’t have to do much to convert the building into a taproom.
“It’s a pretty cool building, it’s got a lot of character, so we didn’t have to do much,” she said.
Tumac Taproom is open 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information, visit the business’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tumactaproom.
