Business

Bellingham’s Portal Container Village announces new Pike Place-inspired market

The Port of Bellingham, WA is adding a vendor market for fisherman, farmers and food at The Portal Container Village in Whatcom County. Aerial view of the Climate Action Week Kickoff Celebration evening Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, at The Portal Container Village in Bellingham, Wash.
The Port of Bellingham, WA is adding a vendor market for fisherman, farmers and food at The Portal Container Village in Whatcom County. Aerial view of the Climate Action Week Kickoff Celebration evening Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, at The Portal Container Village in Bellingham, Wash. Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald

The Port of Bellingham is bringing something new to The Portal Container Village this summer and is looking for local food vendors, farmers and fishermen to participate.

The Port announced March 12 that it is putting together a Pike Place-themed market on Bellingham’s downtown waterfront, featuring fresh foods for visitors.

The Portal Container Village is already known as a great spot in the summer, with food trucks, The Selkie Scoop ice cream and Kulshan Brewing Trackside beer garden.

The container village is also adding new restaurants to its lineup, as Zeeks Pizza and Bin 13 Wine Bar will open shipping container restaurants in May, according to previous reporting by The Herald.

Port officials hope the new market expansion includes more businesses and local farmers, fishermen and vendors.

“We’re working with local fishermen, crabbers, and oyster farmers,” Carey Hansen, the Port’s Container Village Manager, wrote in a news release. “We have a Pike Place Market theme in mind. We’d love to have this place be run like a co-op, by locals. What we like about that idea is that it allows the participants to be involved and sell their products, but not have to commit so much time and staffing. We envision a year-round market, with maybe a native nursery and a Youngstock’s-type farm stand.”

The new market is expected to open in spring 2025.

This story was originally published March 13, 2024 at 9:48 AM.

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Alyse Smith
The Bellingham Herald
Alyse Smith is a reporter at The Bellingham Herald covering retail, restaurants, jobs and business. If you like stories like this, please consider supporting our work with a subscription to our newspaper.
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