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Whatcom Roundup: Bellingham restaurant closes; new eateries planned; Trader Joe’s update

Trader Joe’s at 2410 James St. in Bellingham.
Trader Joe’s at 2410 James St. in Bellingham. The Bellingham Herald

Here’s your weekly roundup of the latest retail, business and restaurant activity in and around Whatcom County:

New Barkley Village restaurant planned

A new ice cream shop is planned for Barkley Village, according to a building permit filed with the city of Bellingham. Little Dreamer Ice Cream filed a permit application for an ice cream restaurant at 3011 Cinema PL Suite 101, the previous location of Vitality Bowls Superfood Café, next door to Regal Cinemas. The permit was filed Jan. 8 and had not been approved as of Jan. 17.

Trader Joe’s progress

Trader Joe’s second Bellingham location is showing signs of progress. The company applied for a building permit for a new exterior sign Jan. 14, though it had not been approved as of Jan. 17. The new grocery store will be at 4255 Meridian St. in Bellingham, the previous location of Bed Bath and Beyond. No opening date has been announced.

Fairhaven restaurant makes changes

Acme Valley Ice Cream, a local ice cream company with a cafe in Fairhaven, announced Jan. 1 it was changing its name to Crooked Spoon.

The company has now filed a building permit application for an updated exterior sign at its cafe at 1021 Harris Ave. The permit was filed Jan. 9 and had not been approved as of Jan. 17.

Bellingham restaurant closed, Verizon moves in

Galos Flame Grilled Chicken closed its doors last year “after failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in rent and state taxes,” according to previous reporting from McClatchy News.

Verizon has filed a building permit with the city of Bellingham to take over the previous restaurant space at 4303 Meridian St. Suite 102. The permit was filed Sept. 13 and had not bee approved as of Jan. 2.

Bellingham events, trivia nights and live music

Bellingham is full of local events, markets, festivals and other events during the month of January. Here’s your guide to this month’s events, trivia, live music and more. For an extensive list of local events, visit our new Events page at www.bellinghamherald.com/events/#.

Discover Whatcom

If you’re looking for some fun things to do in Whatcom County, new restaurants to visit, or stories on what makes our area unique, subscribe to our free weekly “Discover Whatcom” newsletter below.

Sign Up: Discover Whatcom

This curated weekly newsletter is a roundup of what’s new and exciting to help you live joyfully in Bellingham and Whatcom County. Click here to sign up. In your inbox every Thursday.

This story was originally published January 26, 2025 at 3:47 PM.

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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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