Owner pools staffs to open Whatcom restaurant in summer; live music returns to Bellewood
Here’s a roundup of recent retail activity around Whatcom County:
▪ In a sign of how the worker shortage is impacting Whatcom’s restaurant industry, the Black Forest Steakhouse in Blaine announced on social media that it will close until September. The owners of the restaurant also operate CJ’s Beach House in Birch Bay. They decided to pool the workforce they have together to keep the Birch Bay restaurant open during the summer tourism season.
▪ Coconut Kenny’s announced on social media that it is expanding into a new market. The restaurant, which has three spots in Whatcom County and three in Skagit, will be opening a spot in Marysville, near Winco. According to the post the plan is to have the Marysville spot open this by late fall or early winter.
▪ A building permit application was submitted for Opus Performing Arts at 207 Prospect St., near Bellingham Cider Co. Details and updates about the ballet performing arts school can be found on its website.
▪ With the expectation that students will be in class this fall, experts are predicting a big year for businesses doing back-to-school sales. The latest Deloitte survey predicts that retailers will see a 16% boost in back-to-school sales as parents plan to spend $612 on average per child. The survey indicates that along with the need to replenish some items, the recent child tax credit payments will also be a factor for the increased spending.
▪ Live music is returning to Whatcom County’s Bellewood Farms & Distillery as its eight-week Farmtunes series starts Friday, July 23.
The free family-friendly outdoor concerts from 6-9 p.m. Fridays feature artists from throughout the Pacific Northwest. Farmtunes begins with Best Intentions, a duo of Ani Banani and Pete Irving playing a repertoire that encompasses jazz standards, old blues, contemporary diamonds in the rough, and classic-sounding original music.
“Adults can sit and relax beneath the summer sky while children roam in the tire garden,” Eric Abel, president of Bellewood Farms, said in a news release. “This is also an opportunity for us and others to support regional musicians who have gone more than a year without being able to perform in front of live audiences due to COVID-19.”
Bellewood Farms is located at 6140 Guide Meridian. Details can be found on its website.
This story was originally published July 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
