With the Bellingham Kmart closing, what does that mean for other retail stores?

As brick-and-mortar retailers across the U.S. struggle with a changing landscape, Whatcom County is seeing a closure rate similar to recent years.

The Oct. 15 announcement that Kmart would be closing its Sunset Square store later this year marks the biggest retailer in Bellingham to close so far this year.

I’ve counted 49 Whatcom County retailers that have announced or have already closed through mid-October. That’s about on pace with last year’s closure total of 69 and the 2016 total of 64. In the past five years, the number of closures have averaged 59.

This year’s closure list has some national chains — along with Kmart, stores like Justice, Chico’s and Francesca’s also closed. It seems similar in numbers to last year, when Sears Hometown, Radio Shack, Teavana, Apricot Lane and Family Christian exited this market.

Across the U.S., it’s been a tough year for traditional national stores, with nearly 5,000 closures already this year, according to the retail information website Clark.com. That’s after more than 5,000 stores closed last year, according to the website.

One reason the national chain store closures have been relatively modest here is this market is relatively unique, said Hart Hodges, director at the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University.

This retail market is not too close to other major markets and Whatcom County gets a boost from Canadian shoppers.

“We are not a suburb of a larger city that has the same or very similar stores and we are not terribly close to another city with similar stores,” Hodges said in an email. “I think there are cases where companies have to decide between Burlington and Bellingham, but shoppers from the islands or Canada help those stores.”

Even if it’s happening at a slower rate here, keeping a brick-and-mortar store open is a big concern these days. The rise of online shopping is the most common topic I hear when talking to local retailers.

A clearer picture of the state of retail will probably appear after the holiday shopping season, as stores take a look at sales numbers for the fourth quarter.

Other Tidbits

A state liquor license application was submitted for a new sushi restaurant at 1216 Harris Ave. in Fairhaven. The proposed name is Fujisan Sushi and the applicants are Lifu Chen and Miaoyu Zhen. ... A state liquor license was also submitted for a pub in downtown Bellingham. The proposed name is Frank-N-Stein Pub and Sports Bar and the address is 902 N. State St., Suite 106, near Sofie’s Gold Mine & Repair. The applicant is Bradley Kuykendall. ... Drizzle is closing its Lynden location after nearly three years in order to better focus on its Fairhaven location, said co-owner Ross Driscoll in an email. The last day in Lynden is scheduled for Oct. 20, but Driscoll said they plan on offering its more popular olive oil products in local stores in the north part of the county, including the Food Pavilion in Lynden and The Market at Birch Bay. ... My Ferndale News, an online news website, reported that a Taco Bell is being built at 5720 Barrett Road, formerly the home of a Denny’s restaurant. ... Herb’s Cider announced on social media, including a Facebook post, that it has opened its tasting room at 1228 Bay St. in downtown Bellingham. The cider business uses organic applies and is operated by Tim “Herb” Alexander, drummer of the rock band Primus. Further details about the company can be found at herbscider.com.

This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 12:00 PM.