After nearly 20 years, this Fairhaven restaurant will close later this month
A longtime Fairhaven restaurant is closing but plans to reopen as a new eatery later this year.
Fairhaven Pizza announced on Instagram that after almost 20 years in business its last day is Sunday, March 13. Until then the restaurant will be offering takeout every day from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The plan is to transition the restaurant into something else in the coming months. Owner Emile Diffley said in an email that he wanted to take the restaurant in a different direction and will announce details about those changes closer to the reopening. He added that while the pandemic has been a challenge, the reason for the change is a desire to try a new concept.
Diffley has also been busy making changes to his other restaurants. He is in the process of reopening the former Saltine space as Banter After Hours. He also changed the name of his downtown cafe ANMLY to Banter.
According to The Bellingham Herald archives, Fairhaven Pizza was established in 2004 by Tom Traibush. Over the years, Fairhaven Pizza became known for adding prawns as a topping; the prawns were something Traibush would bring back from Alaska from his commercial fishing trips.
In 2015 longtime employee James Wadkins took over the restaurant, which is at 1307 11th St. Diffley purchased the business in September 2020.
Diffley said it’s the previous owners and management who deserve the recognition, building Fairhaven Pizza from the ground up and earning its lasting reputation.
“A special thank you to the inspiring group of employees and individuals who have cultivated a unique space of care, inclusion, progress and worked with skill, integrity and selflessness,” Diffley said in the Instagram post.
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 11:55 AM.
CORRECTION: An early version of this story misspelled Tom Traibush’s name. It was corrected Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
