Restaurant, bar, event space coming to this downtown Bellingham landmark
After surviving the most restrictive parts of the pandemic, including a period making hand sanitizer for the community, Chuckanut Distillery is moving forward with plans to become an event and dining destination.
The company is in the homestretch for opening a bar and restaurant while continuing to work on its spacious event areas in what will be a completely remodeled building at 1311 Cornwall Ave. It is also bringing back its popular distillery tours, which begin at 4 p.m. on Saturdays starting May 7.
The restaurant and cocktail bar will be known as Penny Farthing and they are aiming for a Wednesday, June 1, opening, said Kelly Andrews, co-owner of the distillery. The restaurant will have a small-plate menu and diners can sit next to large windows that show the distillery production facility in operation. Luke Schifflette will be managing the bar/restaurant, which is currently looking to add between 10-20 people to its staff.
It’s been quite a transformation for the building, which the company bought in 2017. The first step was to put the production facility in the basement area and ground floor. That was perhaps one of the biggest parts of the remodel, because significant remodeling work needed to be done on the upper floors before the production facility was put in place.
The production equipment was in place when COVID-19 arrived in 2020. While the pandemic resulted in a loss of momentum with its customer base through the cancellation of distillery tours, the company was able to help the community with the production of hand sanitizer, which it still has plenty of that they are looking to donate. During the more restrictive parts of the pandemic they were also able to focus on remodeling the building, which moved some projects ahead of schedule, Andrews said.
As with many old buildings, there were plenty of surprises in the remodeling process. The building itself was built in 1905 and has been home to many retailers. That includes JC Penney, which was in the building in the 1950s before it moved across the street, according to Chuckanut Bay Distillery’s website. Other tenants included a meat shop, restaurant and various clothing stores. With so many different tenants over the years, the space has become a bit disjointed, but has great “bones,” co-owner Matt Howell said when the remodel work was underway in 2017.
While remodeling work continues throughout much of the building, production of whiskey, vodka and other spirits is getting back on track. The company is currently making around 20,000 bottles a year, with much of it going into stores including Haggen and Whole Foods, Andrews said.
A significant portion of bottles goes to local restaurants and bars, with those sales starting to rebound following the lifting of most pandemic restrictions. That rebound is important to the distillery’s business because restaurants and bars are typically where a customer gets their first taste of a Chuckanut product before purchasing it at a store.
Andrews said the craft industry itself is pretty strong these days, with a lot of creative work being done in brown spirits such as whiskey, which tends to be a product the public enjoys flavor variety. That will be their focus, along with regularly putting out the clear spirits such as vodka and creating a place people locally and from out of the area want to visit.
“We hope to be on that small list of distilleries that people want to visit in the U.S.,” Andrews said.
By early 2023 Chuckanut Distillery is expected to have several event spaces ready, including separate bride and groom rooms for wedding events. Other small rooms will be geared toward meeting space or other events, while the upper level will have a 6,000-square-foot event space for big parties. At the end of 2023 or early 2024, the distillery plans to have a rooftop bar area.
For further updates, visit Chuckanut Distillery’s website and social media pages.
This story was originally published May 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
