Bellingham pizza shop closing permanently, making space for proposed Dutch Bros
One of Bellingham’s newest restaurants is closing permanently after about 10 months of business.
MOTO Pizza, a Seattle-based pizza chain known for unique pizza topping combinations, opened its Meridian Street location last August. The restaurant took over the previous location of Taco Time, and was first proposed in 2023.
“MOTO has made the difficult decision to close the Bellingham location after reviewing the future of this specific site,” Griffin Farnes, a spokesperson for MOTO Pizza, told The Bellingham Herald on June 4. “As with any restaurant decision, we looked at the full picture and ultimately were unable to come to terms that made sense for the future of this location.”
“Bellingham has been an important part of MOTO’s story. The location gave us the opportunity to open in a community we love, test our first drive-through experience, learn more about our operations, and explore how the MOTO restaurant experience can show up in new ways,” Griffin said.
MOTO Pizza’s founder, Lee Kindell, also commented on the difficult decision to close the location.
“We love Bellingham and are grateful for the team, guests, and MOTOHEADS who supported this location. This was a business decision about a specific site, and we ultimately could not come to terms that made sense for the future of this location. It is not a reflection of how we feel about Bellingham or where MOTO is headed. We have a lot of momentum ahead, with three new restaurants coming in California, a Northgate restaurant in motion, and another on Seattle’s Eastside. The MOTO story is still getting bigger. More sharing. More loving. More pizza,” Kindell said.
Although the restaurant is closing, MOTO may one day return to Bellingham.
“This is goodbye to this specific site for now, not goodbye to Bellingham forever,” Griffin said.
“We are closing our beloved Bellingham store! Due to circumstances, we will be looking for a new B’HAM location for the long game! No drama just a good hard decision for the long game of MOTOs future,” a June 4 Instagram post by MOTO Pizza states.
No official closing date has been announced.
MOTO Pizza’s Bellingham location is regularly open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 4373 Meridian St. MOTO Pizza also has locations in Pioneer Square, T-Mobile Park, Bellevue, Edmonds and multiple locations in California.
A Dutch Bros coffee drive-through and walk-up window location has been proposed at MOTO’s Bellingham location, according to a pre-application letter published by the city of Bellingham’s project database on May 26.
The project application, #PRE2026-0032, is for converting the current MOTO Pizza restaurant into a Dutch Bros coffee location by adding a second drive-through lane, interior renovations and a walk-up service window with canopy.
No official opening date has been announced.
Last year, Dutch Bros filed a pre-application for a drive-through location at 4015 Cordata Parkway near Bellis Fair mall, which was never approved.
