After removing tons of stuff, downtown Bellingham building in final steps of remodel
When taking over an old commercial building, the first task is sifting through the decades of stuff left behind. For Matt Howell and Kelly Andrews, they have seen more than they’d ever expected.
Howell and Andrews own Chuckanut Bay Distillery, which is in the process of expanding into a downtown building they purchased last year.
The building at 1309 Cornwall Ave. was built in 1911 and has been home to a variety of businesses over the years, including the local chamber of commerce, a deli and a JC Penney store (JC Penney was there in the 1950s before moving across the street and then to Bellis Fair in the 1980s).
The massive makeover now going on has been an adventure.
Over the years, stuff piled up and walls were built to seal off some of the spaces. In some spots, walls were built next to other walls. Instead of taking stuff out, former owners simply put in another wall, Howell said.
Howell estimates he has hauled out 300,000 pounds of stuff, including 65,000 pounds of steel that went to recycling.
In the process, their findings include an 8-cent note from 1937, a pre-50 stars U.S. flag and clothing from what they assume were from the department store days. In the basement, there’s a painting of a pirate apparently meant to entice customers into the boys clothing department as well as an elaborate pneumatic tube system.
With all of that stuff hauled away, workers from Bellingham’s Zen Construction are busy restoring the building, which includes completely opening up the front facade. Howell said distillery equipment should be installed around the end of September.
In a couple of weeks, workers plan on installing 14-foot-high windows on the upper floor, restoring the original look to the building. The upper level will be used for events, Howell said, and the windows will offer some nice views of the downtown core.
The distillery will go into production as soon as possible, followed by the opening of a tasting room. After that is accomplished, the bar and a 6,000-square-foot event space on the second floor are next on the list. Farther down the road is the possibility of a restaurant.
This is all being done while running the distillery at its current spot at 1115 Railroad Ave., in the alley behind Rumors Cabaret. The business was able to plan ahead with extra production to help get through the remodeling phase.
Chuckanut Bay’s product line includes bourbon, gin, vodka and a spicy holiday liqueur called Krampus.
Both Andrews and Howell are ready to move through this phase and actually get to the point where they are installing equipment into the building and eventually getting people in to see the original aspects of the building.
“This is the most exciting and most stressful thing I’ve done,” Howell said. “This is going to be a highly functional space for us and we hope a great place for people to hang out.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2018 at 5:00 AM.