Jupiter Coffee to Open Second Bakery in Historic Langley Building

The nearly 80-year-old wood-sided building on Second Street that once housed Tim Leonard's pinball arcade is getting a new chapter: Jupiter Coffee, the über-popular scone bakery based in Freeland, plans to open a second location there, joining what the new owner describes as a multi-tenant renovation of one of Langley's more storied commercial spaces.

Jupiter owner Laura Wills said the Langley outpost will mirror what she has built in Freeland: scones, coffee, and take-and-bake frozen scones. Facing the building from Second Street, the new Jupiter will occupy the windowed space to the right of the entry door. Wills has been waiting for the right opportunity to expand, and the 1940s-era former lumber store, a few blocks uphill from Langley's downtown core, felt like it. "I can hardly believe what just happened — it looks like Jupiter will have a second location in the near future!!" she posted on Facebook. "We are so grateful to be a part of saving this building. The new owner of the building is going to make the space incredible, fixing it up and preserving the character and energy. I'm so grateful to be a part of this space that I love. I am over the moon excited for Jupiter's future!!!"

The building recently changed hands, with the new owner identified only as Ryan, a framing subcontractor and general contractor whose crew has spent nearly a decade working alongside Island architects and builders on custom homes across the island. He described his plans for the space as largely preservational. "I feel ultimately fortunate to steward such a cool building," Ryan said. "I want to keep the current layout. The last owners left it the way I wanted it to be. We'll put in a couple of bathrooms." Wills said the pairing felt natural from the start. "Ryan's wonderful, and I am excited to have him as a landlord," she said. "It felt meant to be when I met with Ryan."

Jupiter will be one of several tenants moving into 630 Second Street, a building that has cycled through an eclectic lineup over the decades: a barbershop, Living Green Apothecary, a bakery, a Laundromat, and a design studio. Its most recent occupant was Tim Leonard's Machine Shop, a pinball arcade that entertained Whidbey's young people for seven years before closing in the wake of the COVID epidemic.

The Jupiter expansion is part of a broader shuffle among South Whidbey's coffee businesses this spring. Salty Sea Coffee, operated by Allie and Sterling Jones and currently running three locations, is separately planning a fourth outlet at Wifire Community Space inside Whidbey Telecom at 1651 Main Street in Freeland. The two businesses are, in effect, each planting a flag in the other's home territory.

No opening date for Jupiter's Langley location has been announced, and Ryan's full name and the complete tenant roster for the building have not yet been disclosed.