Wake up and smell…

Some say they prefer not to wake up to this smell of coffee.

Most Waitsburgers are familiar with it. It comes in the form of smoke billowing from a stack at the anony- mous storefront between the old La Monarca Mexican restaurant and the Waits- burg Grocery store on Main Street.

Local residents have put up with the emissions from Dyer Straits Coffee for years, but it has begun to affect other businesses downtown and some of the business owners want some- thing done about it.

Before I get further into the details, I want our read- ers to know that I tried to locate a phone number for David and Lori Dyer, who reportedly own Dyer Straits. The only number I could find did not ring through. I'm hoping the Dyers will read this column and get in touch to share their views about this issue with me.

The long and short of it is that the city received a formal complaint from local resident and entrepre- neur Karen Stanton Gregutt, who owns the Waitsburg Cottages rentals and temporarily closed her boutique "Bubbles & Chocolate" that used to be in Plaza Building, separated from the roaster's retail bay by La Monarca.

"During the six months I was open before my winter break, the shop was often filled with the smell of burnt coffee, sometimes many hours or even the next day after the actual roasting took place," Stanton Gregutt wrote in her complaint form.

"Even when my inside door was closed and my own air conditioning unit was working, I had to discard some of my more fragile chocolates as they absorb odors and become unsellable," she continued. "On many occasions I could not open sample bottles of my wines as the stink would have prevented my custom- ers from tasting anything other than burnt coffee."

Stanton Gregutt went on to say that any alternative locations to her old space at the Plaza wouldn't be far enough from the roaster's lo- cation to work and she notes other businesses' products and services should not be tainted by the smoke either.

She said she approached the roaster but reports she just about had the door slammed in her face. In all fairness, some other Waits- burgers who know the Dyers say they are friendly folks, but, as noted, not everyone, including other business owners who spoke off the record, is too excited about the smoke and smell their business produces.

A few weeks ago, City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe wrote a letter ask- ing the roastery to mitigate its emissions. Late last week, Hinchliffe noted the smoke across from city hall had been notably absent since the beginning of that week. Not having heard back from the owners, Hinchliffe said he will proceed with more forceful correspon- dence if the smoke returns or if he receives another complaint. His enforcement action would then fall un- der the city's nuisance law, which cites water shutoff as the penalty for persistent violations.

In her letter, Stanton Gre- gutt argued that the roast- er's emissions are bad for business. The guests at her cottage complain about it. Some visitors ask if the Coppei Coffee shop is re- sponsible for the smell, she said, though that establishment only buys roasted beans from the Walla Walla Roastery. Potential investors eying some of the empty Main Street store fronts may be turned off by it and she cites health risks as another negative factor.

In my opinion, any busi- ness that generates this type of emissions ought to install a filter or scrubber on its stack or equipment - something that might even be required by law. Otherwise, it may be better off in a business park zoned light in- dustrial. Dyer Straits, which sells its coffee in grocery stores and supermarkets, does not have an active store- front on Main Street anyway.

But I'm hoping the Dyers will contact the Times to let us know their plans for the roastery. By the same token, I would love to hear from other Waitsburg residents who have an opinion on its place on Main Street.