Inside Olympia's hidden gun range
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Open a business in a visible spot and one of the first things you do is put up a sign. But one business in Olympia did the exact opposite.
It’s the Glacier Gun Club, and it’s a secret business hidden in the heart of the state capital.
The building is on Plum street downtown, and locals drive by it unknowingly every day.
From the outside, the signs all advertise T Brother’s Liquor and Wine Lodge. But inside there’s a locked, unmarked door that only members can access.
“Its kind of a hidden little gem,” says owner Andrew Thielen. “Its almost like a speakeasy door to get into the other side.”
Andrew and his brother bought the liquor store business from the state in 2012. Shortly after that, they bought the building itself and realized they had a ton of extra space.
“We said, 'Man, we gotta put a business back here,'” says Thielen.
They had always dreamed of opening an indoor gun range. So with available space and the desire, they decided to make that dream a reality.
Three years later, the Glacier Gun Club is going strong.
“Most people walk through the door and say, 'Wow…this isn't what I thought a gun range would look like,'” says Theilen.
It feels like a luxury country club with a big fire place, comfy leather chairs and couches and rich dark wood running along nearly every surface.
Parker Brodland is a member and says he’s at the club nearly every day.
“Its super convenient, super easy, I can pop in for an hour – I can pop in for an hour and a half or two – whatever I feel like, and home is just right around the corner,” says Brodland.
Frank Hamard joined the club about a month ago.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. The concept is fantastic – you shoot, you can go back out to the liquor store,” says Hamard.
However, you cannot do the reverse, says Thielen.
“We’re not shooting liquor bottles off the shelf,” says Thielen. “They are two separate businesses. We run them separately. We just happen to own both, and they are in the same building.”
Thielen says they background check members who have to use a security badge to get in. They charge $25-$50 a month and then members get access to the range, the lounge, lockers and even a special spot to enjoy a cigar.
“They’ve got the ATF under one roof,” says Parker Brodland.
“After about 15 minutes, I'm like, I'm not stupid, I have a GPA; I cant find this place,” says Hamard of the first time he tried to visit the club. “So I park in the liquor store and I'm like, 'Hey…I’m here…I’m in the liquor store, where’s the range?' And she’s like, 'Oh you just have to come on in.'"