Granary building seeing activity; pet store nearly ready to open second location
Here’s a roundup of recent retail activity in Whatcom County:
▪ A building permit was submitted for a tenant on the first floor of the Granary Building on Bellingham’s waterfront. It is a mead-tasting business called Artivem Mead Co. The one other first-floor tenant in that building that’s applied for permits is Good to Go Meat Pies, which aims to open in the coming months.
▪ A sign permit was submitted to change the current 76 gas station to a Chevron station at 3330 Airport Drive. According to the permit application, the 7-11 convenience store will remain unchanged except for some additional signs.
▪ PetStop is expected to open a second store later this month in Sudden Valley, near Tino’s Pizza & Pasta Co., according to a Facebook post. The company, which also has a store in the Sehome Shopping Center, sells a variety of dog and cat products.
▪ Washington’s Employment Security Department is expecting a slight bump in Whatcom County retail hiring for the holiday shopping season. The agency predicts 314 temporary jobs will be available this season; last year 249 people were hired.
▪ The Downtown Bellingham Partnership has begun its 2020 Main Street Tax Incentive program, which allows businesses who donate to the organization the opportunity to receive 75% of the donation back as a tax credit. For details, call 360-527-8710.
▪ With Boundary Bay Brewery turning 25 in 2020, the company is planning to spend the year making donations to local nonprofits, schools and clubs.
Boundary Bay’s donations will total $25,000 in cash, beer and merchandise. The brewery is currently taking applications on its website.
