This Fairhaven brick-and-mortar store survives in an online world, but change coming

Colleen Mitchell loves her business, but she is ready to slow down a little bit.

Mitchell recently put her Fairhaven retail store Culinary Creations up for sale. She is planning to keep the store open until the lease expires at the end of March, but is taking the time now to find someone who can continue what she started.

It is very much a kitchen store, but Culinary Creations also has a big wine selection and a pasta/seasonings section. With regular wine tastings and other events, Mitchell has wanted to create a place people could hang out and buy the latest products.

Since starting the business in the spring of 2013, Mitchell said what’s she’s enjoyed most is getting to know the customers and turning it into what it is today. In the challenging world of small brick-and-mortar businesses, she said it’s one of those stores that has survived the online competition because people still enjoy the experience of seeing and touching products, particularly things like linens and kitchen gadgets.

Mitchell said she already knows she’ll miss the customers, but is looking forward to semi-retiring.

“It is really important to me that it continues, because Bellingham needs a kitchen store like this,” Mitchell said, adding that she’s had plenty of customers expressing the same sentiment after she announced her plans to sell.

Mitchell won’t disclose the price, but for more information about buying the business, call 360-746-8425 or visit the store at 1210 11th St.

This story was originally published September 30, 2018 at 5:00 AM.