More Bellingham restaurant landmarks that readers fondly remember
It’s time for the second round of landmark restaurant spots in Bellingham.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column about restaurants longtime residents still refer to that have long disappeared from the Bellingham scene. I invited readers to let me know which ones I missed and boy did I get a lot of feedback over the holidays. Here’s a look at five more popular spots I overlooked, with a little bit of context for Bellingham newcomers:
▪ By far the most common reader suggestion I received was Herfy’s, which was over at 1400 N. Forest St. until it closed in 1996. Looking through the archives I get the sense that it was place that had good burgers and shakes but could be a little rowdy. In 1996 one columnist wrote about Hefry’s being his first job. He worked there before Bellis Fair arrived, so Herfy’s was a place to stop for teens at night while cruising around downtown. That led to a few fights in the parking lot, which he remembered spending time cleaning up.
Some readers had fond memories of Herfy’s and the cruising scene. At one point a cheeseburger was 39 cents, which worked great for the teen budget. One reader said it was more about being a stopping place than having a great menu.
▪ When it was time to get breakfast or lunch around City Hall or the Whatcom County Courthouse, a popular option was Hizzoner’s Uptown Deli.
It was on the bottom floor of what’s now a county office building near the library from 1980 until 2007. Sitara Williamson ran the deli, first as manager beginning in 1994. She bought the business in 1997 and ran it for 10 years. It was the spot for attorneys and political pundits to hang out.
While soups were a steady favorite, the slices of chocolate cake were legendary. According to one article, in 2006 one of Williamson’s cakes sold at a Lydia Place fundraiser for $945.
Williamson still has a website that talks about the history of the restaurant and lists some of Hizzoner’s recipes. Just go to hizzoners.com.
▪ It was a huge place to get something to eat and it entertained children with its model trains that wound around the tracks near the ceiling. Based on the feedback I saw, many people still miss Billy McHale’s at 4301 Meridian St.
The eatery operated from 1992 until 2014, operating in a 10,000-square-foot building that at times employed 65 people. Except for seasonal businesses, the building has been vacant since 2014.
▪ The Shrimp Shack was one of those restaurants that had two lives — the time it spent in what’s now the Maritime Heritage Park and its revival on the corner of Cornwall Avenue and East Chestnut Street.
The original Shrimp Shack shut down in 1998 after the city purchased the property for $388,500. The run-down building was torn down and became a restroom area and the trailhead for the Whatcom Creek Trail. It had been around as Shrimp Shack/fish market since at least the 1960s, according to the archives.
It then moved to the Cornwall Avenue space in 2004, where it operated until 2014. At both places it was known for using locally caught fish, but also a place that had burgers and sandwiches in a quick-style format.
▪ Il Fiasco was known by many as a top fine-dining spot on Commercial Street in downtown Bellingham from the 1980s until it shut down in 2000. Based on the food reviews in the archives, people enjoyed its northern Italian fare and appeared to be the place to go for special occasions like birthdays and wedding anniversaries.
