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Dean Jones, longtime downtown Olympia shopkeeper behind Encore Chocolates & Teas, dies at 83
Dean Jones and his wife, Carla, ran Encore Chocolates & Teas on Fifth Avenue for 15 years, and before that Four Seasons Books for 14. He died Oct. 2. The shop closed briefly after his death and has since reopened.
Dean Richard Jones, who ran the downtown Olympia shop Encore Chocolates & Teas with his wife, Carla, died Oct. 2 at 83, according to his online obituary and the shop's Facebook page, as reported by The Olympian. A cause of death was not immediately known.
Decades downtown. Born in Minneapolis, Jones married Carla in 1963. The couple owned Encore for 15 years, and before that ran Four Seasons Books in the Carnegie Library building for 14 years, the obituary says.
Encore started on Washington Street, across from the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, and later moved to Fifth Avenue. In 2015 it carried more than 200 loose-leaf teas and hundreds of chocolates, The Olympian reported then. Jones called taste-testing "the hard part of the job."
Civic work. Jones was active in the Olympia Downtown Alliance and later became its president, according to his obituary. Encore was named Business of the Year in 2020, and Jones was Downtown Person of the Year in 2023.
The shop today. Encore closed briefly and has reopened, with a space for customers to share condolences. Carla Jones declined to comment, The Olympian reported.
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Photo credit: Archive photo: Steve Bloom / The Olympian
