Local farmers are always on the lookout for ways to sell fresh produce, and now they have an opportunity six days a week on one of downtown Bellingham’s busiest streets.

Last week Local Food Exchange opened at 1314 Railroad Ave., near Hohl Feed & Seed Co. The business will have a retail outlet where 15 Whatcom and Skagit farmers offer a variety of products, including seasonal vegetables and fruit as well as milk and butter from Breckenridge Farm in Everson. It will also serve as a distribution center for local restaurants for pick-up, and for people in the Community Supported Agriculture program.

The space was home to K&M Red River Farm’s products, but became too much for the farmer to handle while running a farm at the same time, said Dana Zemel, farm stand manager for Local Food Exchange. So the group Growing Washington stepped in, organizing the store so there is a consistent product from a variety of farmers.

“We’re hoping this will be the type of place people can stop by to pick up fresh food for dinner or other meals, filling in for the things they didn’t get at the farmers market,” Zemel said. “It’s a chance to bring back more of the shopping-that-day for meals concept, getting food that came from the farm a few hours ago.”

The exchange will charge prices that pay the farmer and cover the overhead expenses. It will offer whatever is ready to be harvested. Since the weather has been cold and wet this spring, the exchange is offering the green types of vegetables, like spinach and arugula.

“As soon as the sun comes out, though, we’ll have a lot of great stuff, including berries,” Zemel said.

Also sharing the space is El Capitan’s Brat, Sausage & Dogs, which is currently catering to the late-night crowd. It is open from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, but starting next week it will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

The Local Food Exchange is open noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit www.growingwashington.org.

RESTAURATEUR SAYS GOODBYE

When Carole Burton decided to sell Cafe Caffé after running it for more than 18 years, the most difficult part wasn’t parting ways with the business but saying goodbye to her customers.

“They have been my daily companions and knowing them has enriched my life,” Burton said. “Running a restaurant is a challenging business, so it’s the people you meet that make the difference.”

Saying she needed to set up “Grandma Camp” (she has six grandchildren she wants to spend more time with) and do some traveling, Burton sold the cafe, at 3908 Meridian St., to Patricia Schiedigger. Burton said she’ll stay on for the next week or so, helping with the transition.

“Patricia seems to be one of those people who will be here, getting to know the customer, like I was,” Burton said. “That’s really the way you have success in restaurants. This isn’t one of those businesses where you just collect the money at the end of the day. You have to be the driving force.”

Burton wanted to get into business after her children left home and originally planned a small espresso and pastry place. This was before drive-through coffee stands came to Bellingham, but when they did she had to change the business into a cafe that included lunch. She also had to get into the wholesale business, selling her pastries to the competitive drive-through market.

“We started off as a quick place to get coffee and pastries, but the drive-throughs took over that market,” Burton said. “We became more about being a place where friends can meet over coffee and relax.”

Looking back at what she’s accomplished, Burton said the important things to keeping a restaurant going are being very careful with costs and making sure you have high-quality service.

“You can get good food anywhere, but as soon as someone has bad service they won’t be back,” Burton said. “It’s a lot of work to maintain that, but I’m so glad I did it. I’m leaving with a lot of great memories.”

LOCAL STORE MOVES

Locust, a limited-edition apparel store, has moved from 1210 Cornwall Ave. into the Gateway Building on Railroad Avenue, near Bob’s Burgers & Brew.

Owner Ivan Barrow said he’d been in the Cornwall Avenue location about a year but wanted to move to a space that saw more foot traffic. The store sells a variety of clothing items for those interested in street wear and art-based clothing, including shirts, pants and hats (they’ll add a shoe line later this month). Barrow said they’ll have a grand opening event later this month.

For more information about Locust, visit www.shoplocust.com or call 527-2757.

Retail Tip Sheet runs each Monday. Reach Dave Gallagher at 715-2269 or dave.gallagher@bellinghamherald.com.