A key space in downtown Bellingham is now available after cafe ends 10-year run
Here’s a roundup of recent retail and construction activity around Whatcom County:
▪ Woods Coffee has decided to permanently close its cafe in the Flatiron building near Bayou on Bay in downtown Bellingham.
The cafe was temporarily closed throughout much of the pandemic, opening this summer for a short period. In an email, company President Wes Herman confirmed the decision, adding that it was a good decade serving the community in that spot and a good partnership with Faithlife, which occupies most of the building.
Herman said that it wasn’t clear how much of an impact the pandemic had on the cafe. It became clear after being open a couple of months, however, that the numbers weren’t there like it was before the pandemic. He added that the Woods Coffee on Railroad Avenue continues to do well.
One other impact from this closure is Antler Bakery, which rented space inside the cafe. In a social media post Owner Veronica Stendahl said she will be a regular vendor at the Bellingham Farmers Market while looking for a new space.
“Being able to have a beautiful counter downtown has been very lovely the last 3+ years but I am ready to close this chapter and create an even more remarkable space for Antler & my dreams,” Stendahl said in a Sept. 8 Facebook post, adding that she is grateful for being able to lease part of the Woods cafe space while she was just building her business.
As for Woods, Herman said the other locations have done well and have stayed open through much of the pandemic. The company did recently reopen its Lincoln Square location in Bellevue. That spot is at the base of a Microsoft building, so it had to close for a time because most of those employees were not in the office until recently.
With the Flatiron building spot closed, the 2,615-square-foot space is available. Leasing information is available through Pacific Continental Realty.
▪ The downtown Bellingham gourmet hot dog eatery El Capitan’s is now open for indoor dining.
Given the small space at 1201 Cornwall Ave. and the latest wave of COVID-19, El Capitan’s has a set of new procedures in place. Orders will continue to take place at the walk-up window. After placing and picking up the order, those who have proof of vaccination can dine inside. For those who prefer not to come inside, orders will be delivered to the customer outside.
▪ The Black Forest Steakhouse in Blaine has reopened for dinner. The restaurant temporarily shut down on July 11 so it could pool its employees during the labor shortage and ensure it could provide full service summer operations at its Birch Bay restaurant, CJ’s Beach House.
▪ Cafe Blue in Fairhaven is taking a break but will be back Thursday, Sept. 23, according to a social media post.
▪ A neighborhood meeting via Zoom is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 13, to talk about a major construction project on the St. Joseph Medical Center campus.
The proposed project is a new multi-story parking garage that will have more than 400 net new parking spaces, according to documents submitted to the city. The parking garage would go in the current parking area near the Clock Tower Building and the Pacific Rim Outpatient Surgery Center.
The timeline for the project would have construction starting in the spring of 2022, finishing up in the spring of 2023.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Details about the project, including how to log into the Zoom meeting, can be found on the city’s website.
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
