With the list of Whatcom restaurant closures growing, is 2019 particularly brutal?
With the recent flurry of local restaurant closures, some might get the feeling that something unusual is happening. It turns out the closures fit the pattern in Whatcom County the past few years.
Whatcom County has had at least 21 restaurant closures so far in 2019, with 10 happening the past few months. Some recent examples include Cobalt Grill & Lounge, Station Social House, Abbey Garden Tea Room and Rudy’s Pizzeria..
I looked through the closure lists of previous years and found a similar trend. Last year 28 restaurants closed, with 11 closing in the final quarter. In 2017 there were 22 restaurant closures, with eight closing in the final few months.
As for Whatcom retail store closures in general, they’ve been at a slower pace than the past few years. Heading into the final month of the year I’ve counted 42 brick-and-mortar closures; last year’s overall total was 64, while 2017 had 69 closures.
December and January might shed some light on what impact, if any, the 12.5% minimum wage increase starting Jan. 1 will have on retail and restaurant closures. It is typically a busy time for closures: Leases might be up for renewal, the holiday shopping season wraps up and sales tend to be slow for the first month or two of the year. For business owners, the new year might also be time to try something else.
While the coming weeks are typically a time of closures, there is still plenty of restaurant plans in the works. Downtown Bellingham has several in the works, including Puttanesca Ristorante Italiano, which is going in next to Mt. Baker Theatre, Storia Cucina is opening in the former Michael’s Books building at 109 Grand Ave. and Flatstick Pub, which is moving into 902 N. State St., in the former New York Pizza space.
