‘We just don’t have enough business to survive’: Fairhaven restaurant closing
A Fairhaven restaurant that opened in last year will now be closing permanently due to a lack of business.
Sugar & Co., a restaurant owned by husband-and-wife duo Brie and Evan Mueller, opened in October after the previous restaurant in the location — Milano’s Italian Restaurant — closed in September. Brie owns Bellingham cabaret Sugar, and Evan is a theater professor at Western Washington University.
“I think we’re a little crazy,” Brie told The Herald in October. “I had been in the restaurant industry for about 27 years before I decided to go into real estate. And the past owner of Milanos had reached out to me as a real estate agent to see if I could sell her business. ... and so we sort of started talking, and we’re like, we could actually make this happen. And so we started the process rolling.”
The duo aimed to create a “spunky” space with live music, bright and bold decor, and a high-end menu featuring dishes like oysters, filet mignon, chicken milanese, lamb burgers, pistachio-crusted herb fish and chocolate pot de crème.
The Muellers announced July 11 on social media that they will close the restaurant permanently.
“Evan and I have had to make the decision that we will be closing the restaurant. This was an extremely hard decision to make. And we took a long time thinking about it. And there’s just no other way around it. We have to do what’s right for our family,” Brie said in a video announcing the closure.
“Unfortunately, we just don’t have enough business to survive, and don’t have the means to hang on to see if we get the business unfortunately. We came into this with what we had, hoping for the best and the best just never came,” Brie said.
The sudden closure came after the restaurant won multiple awards in the Cascade’s Best Awards, winning gold for New Restaurant and bronze for Craft Cocktail awards.
“I don’t know why. No rhyme, no reason. We just won gold for best new restaurant, bronze for best craft cocktails. We are the best reviewed, highest reviewed restaurant in Bellingham on Google. We have phenomenal musicians, phenomenal staff, we just don’t know why.”
“We’ve had to make this decision, and we are pretty heartbroken. We’re kinda going through the grieving process right now.”
Sugar & Co. will remain open until its last operating day — Friday, July 25.
“We would love to see you; we would love to have you come out. If you haven’t had the food, please come and taste our amazing food that my kitchen staff does an amazing job preparing. Come have the amazing cocktails we serve, come be taken care of,” Brie said.
“We are so grateful for the community that did come and support us.”
Sugar & Co. is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at 1210 11th St.
The Herald reached out to the owners but has yet to receive a response.
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 12:30 PM.
