Lake Tapps' Coffee Stand Now Has Seats, Just as the Lake Drops for Winter

The walk-up coffee stand on 9th Street East has had more owners than most people around Lake Tapps can name. Chelsea Scott remembers several of them. She grew up nearby. She and her sister bought coffee there as students, and her mother stopped on the way to work. Speaking with The News Tribune, Scott said her family were customers there "every single day practically."

The stand now belongs to her family, and this September it got chairs.

Scott, her sister Stephanie Jensen and their mother Gina Stanhope have run The Coffee Vault in the area since 2022. They have turned the walk-up into a sit-down café called The Lake Tapps Society. According to a September 14 News Tribune business roundup, it held a soft opening earlier that month at 18215 9th St. E., Suite 105. The café's first full season will be the months when the lake gives Lake Tapps the least to do.

A Corner Room Where a Clothing Store Used to Be

The expansion is mostly a matter of square footage. The family took over the bigger space next door, which used to be a clothing store called Slate. Scott told The News Tribune that the old Slate space is "now just going to be kind of a prep space area," and that they "converted the entire corner of that building into a café area where there is now seating."

In August, Hoodline reported that the drive-thru at 314 182nd Ave. E. would keep running as before. The coffee hasn't changed either. Scott said everything comes from Dillanos in Sumner, which makes a special blend for the shop. Keeping the coffee the same was deliberate. She described the goal as keeping what regulars knew from the stand, "just with kind of some of our improvements."

Here is what the new room adds, as reported:

• More drinks, including dirty sodas
• Beer, wine and champagne, plus a mimosa bar, with the café staying open later to serve them
• Grab-and-go food on top of the walk-up's existing menu
• TVs on the wall for sporting events
• Local goods such as jewelry by area artists, mugs and local art

The Owners Say Lake Tapps Had No Room Like This

Scott said plainly why the café exists. She told The News Tribune:

"We don't have really any kind of community gathering spaces in Lake Tapps. ... We're really excited to be able to kind of offer this community gathering space."

She named who she expects to come in: students after school, workers meeting clients, and other residents. She also called the café "kind of like our love letter to the community."

A gathering space needs a place to sit, a reason to stay past the first cup, and hours that reach past the morning commute. The corner seating supplies the first, and the food, TVs and shelves of local goods supply the second. As for hours, the September roundup lists the café as open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. That covers the commute, the after-school stretch Scott mentioned, and the early evening, when the beer, wine and mimosa menu comes in.

Almost all of what the café offers depends on that 8 p.m. close. The evening hours turn a coffee stop into a place to meet someone.

The Calendar the Café Opened Into

Through summer, the lake itself does much of the work of bringing people together at Lake Tapps. That changes on a set schedule, and the schedule is public.

On September 29, 2026, Cascade Water Alliance announced this year's drawdown. Here is how the café's first months line up with the reservoir:

1. Early September 2026. The Lake Tapps Society holds its soft opening.
2. September 29, 2026. Cascade reports the reservoir at 540.55 feet. Cascade says that through October it will watch weather and river flows and add water if it can.
3. November 1, 2026. Active fall drawdown begins. It brings the reservoir to roughly 538 to 539 feet for fall and winter. Cascade tells residents to watch levels and decide when to pull boats and other property out of the water.
4. Mid-February 2027. Spring refill is expected to start, aiming for about 543 feet, the maximum allowed under Cascade's operating agreements with the Lake Tapps Community Council.

This year the lake started low. Cascade said the statewide drought made it hard to hold reservoir levels this summer. Its water rights don't allow diversions from the White River when the river is below minimum instream flows, and the river has been below them. Cascade said it couldn't add any significant water in the month before the announcement, so levels dropped.

Put the two timelines together and the café's opening stretch is the off-season. Between the November 1 drawdown and the mid-February refill, a room with seats and an 8 p.m. close gets about three and a half months as one of the few gathering places in the area that doesn't depend on the water. Those months will show whether Scott's case holds up.

A Stand With a Long Memory

The new room carries some history that a brand-new building wouldn't. The News Tribune reported that the stand changed hands many times over the years, and Scott said it stayed a staple in the community the whole time. The family's version keeps the coffee and the menu people already knew, and adds a room on top.

The local sourcing follows the same idea. Dillanos, the roaster behind the shop's blend, is in Sumner. The gift shelves feature jewelry by area artists. In Scott's words to The News Tribune, "We're really trying to keep it local."

Before You Stop In

A few practical points, since the café is only weeks old:

• Hours may still change. The daily 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. schedule comes from soft-opening coverage. The café's Facebook page is the best place to check current hours before an evening visit.
• Check the evening drink menu when you go. Mimosas were on the menu in the September coverage. In August, Hoodline reported beer, wine and champagne as part of the plan.
• Find the right door. The café is at Suite 105, 18215 9th St. E. The drive-thru is a separate location at 314 182nd Ave. E.

Whenever we prepare a home on the lake, we start by learning how the corner around it really works through the seasons. If you're thinking about how your Lake Tapps home fits into the off-season, The Misener Group would be glad to talk it through, maybe over a coffee on 9th Street East. Let's elevate your experience. Schedule a consult.