Here’s what’s happening with Brotha Dudes, Electric Beet Juice Co. in Bellingham
Brotha Dudes abruptly closed its downtown and Northwest Avenue locations earlier this month.
Citing slow sales over the summer, owner Julius Stoker said in a video posted to a GoFundMe account that they started falling behind on tax payments, prompting the closure.
“We have learned a difficult life lesson and the consequences of growing too fast, entering into hard money loans and not having financial backing,” according to a written post accompanying the video on the GoFundMe page.
After the closure announcement on Facebook Oct. 7, Brotha Dudes received many comments of support, prompting a GoFundMe account. The focus of the GoFundMe account is to raise money to pay its employees a final paycheck, but if enough is raised they might be able to reopen one or both restaurants, Stoker said in the video.
According to tax warrant documents filed earlier this year in Whatcom County Superior Court, Brotha Dudes owes a little more than $11,000 to state agencies.
Other Tidbits
A new salon is going into the former Old Country Buffet space at Bellis Fair. Sola Salon Studios is a place that provides stylists with a high-end, fully equipped salon studio, according to its website. In Bellingham, Sola will have 27 individual spaces available for stylists to lease as their own small business, said Nick Foster, a franchise owner, in an email to The Bellingham Herald. Foster is expecting the Bellingham Sola to be open in January. ... Downtown Bellingham Partnership is offering grants up to $2,000 for businesses looking to improve their storefronts in the downtown district. Projects are selected based on the greatest impact it will have on the district, according to the organization’s website. Further details and an application form are also on the website. ... A state liquor license was submitted to put in a winery at 1011 Girard St., Unit B in Bellingham. The business is La Chanterelle Winery and the applicants are Don Pocus and Lotte Freeman. ... Electric Beet Juice Co. is up and running at its new space at 1313 N. State St., near the YMCA. The juice and smoothie place also offers breakfast and lunch options six days a week, closed on Sundays. Details can be found on its Facebook page. ... A Bellingham building permit application was submitted on Oct. 12 to build a three-story storage facility at 1155 Lincoln St., near the Sehome Classic Car Wash.
This story was originally published October 13, 2018 at 5:00 AM.