Thurston County regulations snare business owner

Linda Reichel realized her life-long dream of owning a restaurant when she opened The Ranch Cafe 2 months ago. She needs to sell food—as well as coffee—so she can make enough money to keep her doors open.

Thurston County has been on the lookout for what they call “menu creep”—that’s when business owners like Linda increase their menu without Thurston County’s permission.

Now, Thurston County will not work with Linda and let her add menu items. She has already been forced to layoff her only employee and faces the real possibility of losing her business.

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