Business - Business News

POSTED: Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

A wave of change in Whatcom County for first half of 2009

As this recession drags on, it's creating significant change in the Whatcom County business community.

Through the end of June, 50 Whatcom County businesses closed or announced closures. That's ahead of last year's pace - 83 closures in all of 2008.

There are no official records that I can find on local business closures or storefront openings, so I rely on what I can find throughout the county and tips from readers. In 2007 I tallied 35 business closures.

The 2009 closures include some longtime local businesses, such as BB Lumber, Goff's Department Store (closing at the end of August), and Brown's Bellingham Beauty & Barber Supply Co. as well as large national retailers, including Circuit City, Joe's sporting goods and Boater's World.

What's been interesting to me is the number of storefronts that have either opened or announced plans to open in the first two quarters of the year: 52. With the economy in a recession and a challenging commercial loan market, I would have expected fewer openings.

Some of the biggest openings in terms of size so far this year are concentrated in grocery (The Markets at Birch Bay and the Community Food Co-op in the Cordata neighborhood), and restaurants, including Sonic and Scotty Browns. There's also been the opening of Ferndale Ace Hardware and United Furniture in Bellingham.

Whatcom County has a history of successful business that started in hard times. Haggen Inc. got its start during the Great Depression. It'll be interesting to see what companies emerge through the start-up phase during this period to thrive after the economy recovers.

UPDATE ON GREENE'S CORNER

More news on Greene's Corner, the market on the corner of Smith Road and Northwest Drive. On Saturday, June 27, the store portion of the market opened, along with a new business: Nico's Pizza. There are three pizza ovens installed and the business offers pizza take-and-bake, cooked to go and by the slice. The general manager is Russell Duncan, who also created the menu for Nico's Pizza.

Along with the store and the pizza place, there's a drive-thru coffee and café being run by Hammerhead Coffee Roasters. Fools Onion Catering is also offering sandwiches and other items at the market to go along with its catering business.

Jeff Hopwood said they are trying to create a concept similar to Granville Island, where there are several businesses in one location focusing on what they do best. Greene's Corner was closed earlier this year while changing the concept.

"We've had a great response; the most common comment we've had is 'glad to see you're back,'" Hopwood said. "We're really happy how the pizza is turning out; it's something we didn't have before."

For details about what's happening at the market, visit greenescorner.com or nicospizza.com.

OTHER TIDBITS

Slo Pitch Sports Grill & Casino appears to be on the move to the Eleni's Family Restaurant building at 3720 Meridian St. The owner, Jas Gill, has filed a building permit application with the city of Bellingham to relocate the restaurant there after doing about $200,000 in tenant improvements. Gill did not return a phone message seeking comment. Eleni and Jim Zourkos announced last week they were closing Eleni's after 25 years in business. Eleni's last day is Wednesday, July 15. ... New York Pizza & Bar opened earlier this month at 902 State St. There's also a New York Pizza in Lynden. ... Everybody's Antique & Collectibles at 310 W. Holly St. has closed.

This doesn't fall into retail news, but it will be of interest to those who enjoy watching construction work: Custom Concrete Contracting, Inc. plans on doing a 1,600-yard concrete pour starting the morning of Wednesday, July 1, for the Bellwether Gate project on the waterfront. Office manager Jeri Hagin said it will take place throughout the morning, with up to seven trucks lined up dumping concrete. The general contractor on the project is Ebenal General Special Projects, while Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix will be providing the concrete.