This new brewery is planning to open in downtown Bellingham, Sweet As Waffles opens
Here’s a roundup of recent restaurant and retail activity around Whatcom County:
▪ A new brewery is coming to downtown Bellingham in 2022.
Shawn Vail and Emily Nichols are opening Darach Brewing Co. at 1015 N. State St., in the former Green Frog/Firefly space next to Redlight Kitchen & Bar. They plan to open next summer, depending on how long construction and remodeling takes, said Vail in an email.
Vail said they are going with a taproom format, selling some snack items but also allowing customers to bring in outside food. They also want it to be family- and dog-friendly.
The plan is to focus on farmhouse-inspired beers and IPAs, Vail said, but also leaving room to roll out other beers such as stouts and porters.
Vail has 11 years of professional brewing experience, while Nichols has been in the industry for nine years. They decided on starting this in Bellingham because it has a fantastic beer scene and they fell in love with the area.
The Darach name is a Scottish Gaelic word for oak, which inspired the brewery’s name. They plan on using oak barrels for a large portion of the beers they produce.
Details and updates about the brewery can be found on its Facebook page or its website.
▪ An art studio gift shop called Refind Creations recently opened up in the Bellingham Hardware building at 215 W. Holly St. in downtown Bellingham.
Belinda Botzong and her daughter Nicole operate the business, which started out nearby in the Bay Street Village in January 2020 but had to scale back for a time during the pandemic. To get a fresh start, she moved the business to its current spot near Camber.
Belinda Botzong’s dream is to have a place where she can do her art but also offer a space for celebrations, like baby showers or other group events that involve craft projects. She also has a retail space to sell art.
Art that’s available in her retail store includes candles, tea towels, baby onesies and porch leaner signs.
The business is having a grand re-opening during the First Friday Art Walk event 6-8 p.m. on Friday, June 4. After that event, Refind Creations is open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Details can be found on its website.
▪ The New Mexico Tamale Company is having a grand opening at its new Bellingham location 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2. The new location is at 4151 Meridian St., in the shopping center near the Burlington clothing store. After the grand opening, the Tamale Company will be open every day except Sundays.
▪ A state restaurant/catering liquor license application was submitted for a space at 648 Peace Portal Drive in Blaine. The proposed name is On Board and the applicant is Kristen Slavin.
▪ A new food truck is coming to Stemma Brewing at 2039 Moore St. The truck is called Sweet As Waffles and it will open on Wednesday, June 2. According to its website, the menu has a mix of sweet and savory dishes.
▪ Living Pantry, a home goods store in Blaine, announced in a Facebook post that it is opening a second store in Bellingham this summer. The company plans to announce more specific details later, but did say the new store would be in the Roosevelt neighborhood.
The Blaine store specializes in bulk food, home goods and body care refills, coming up with sustainable alternatives to single-use containers. The Blaine store is at 684 Peace Portal Drive.
▪ For small businesses looking for COVID-19 pandemic relief, there’s another chance to apply for grants.
During the week of Monday, May 31, the Port of Bellingham and the Regional Economic Partnership is accepting grant applications. Grants will be prioritized for small businesses that have experienced significant, cumulative impacts. To be eligible to apply a business needs to have fewer than 25 employees and must be a for-profit business that was opened on or before Jan. 1, 2020. The minimum grant amount is $10,000 and the maximum grant amount is $25,000, according to a news release.
The deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 7. Details can be found on the Port of Bellingham’s website.
▪ Thousand Acre Cider House in downtown Bellingham will host weekly celebrations of LBGTQ+ culture and progress through weekly events with local activist Betty Desire beginning Thursday, June 3, with other events planned each Thursday for Pride Month.
Live singing, lip-syncing, humor, and plenty of rainbows and glitter will be featured at the outdoor drag shows named “Queens of Cider with Betty Desire,” according to a news release.
Further details can be found on the Thousand Acre website.
This story was originally published May 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
