Whatcom Roundup: Bellinghamster shop; Boundary Bay building update; taco crawl
Here’s our weekly roundup of the latest retail and restaurant activity around Whatcom County:
New Bellingham niche shop opening
A new niche Bellingham gift shop called The Bellinghamsters Plush Adoption Center is opening next week.
“The Bellinghamsters are a whimsical line of collectible plush hamsters, each with their own personalities and outfits,” business founder Katrina Martin wrote in an email to The Herald. “Until now, fans could only adopt them at traveling pop-up events, but this new storefront will allow visitors to ‘Pick-a-Plush,’ ‘Select-a-Style’ and ‘Claim a Cottage’ to take home their very own Bellinghamster buddy any day of the week.”
The new shop will open at noon Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1308 Meador Ave. for a grand opening event that will include free cookies and a visit from a giant Bellinghamster mascot.
The shop will be open regularly from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and by appointment only Friday through Sunday.
Boundary Bay Brewery property
Now that Boundary Bay Brewery permanently closed Sept. 30, you may be wondering what will go into the downtown Bellingham restaurant space.
The property is currently listed for sale by Pacific Continental Realty for $3.1 million. As of Sept. 29, no land-use or building permit applications had been submitted for the property, according to the city of Bellingham Permit Center.
“The city has not received any pre-applications or permit applications for this property, so at this time there is no additional information available as to what will happen with this property following the closing of the current business,” Blake Lyon, Bellingham’s director of planning and community development, told The Herald.
Paws for a Beer pumpkin fundrasier
Paws for a Beer, Alluvial Farms and Pacific Northwest Cattle Dog Rescue are teaming up for the Pacific Northwest Pumpkin Rescue fundraiser.
“Paws For A Beer is transforming its popular dog-friendly beer garden into the ultimate fall destination with a huge heart. Their new ‘Pacific Northwest Pumpkin Rescue’ invites the Bellingham community to purchase a pumpkin and directly help a dog in need, as 100% of all pumpkin sales will benefit the Pacific Northwest Cattle Dog Rescue,” a news release from Paws for a Beer states.
Hundreds of pumpkins from Alluvial Farms are now at the beer garden and are for sale through Oct. 26.
“I’ve personally met each of these unique pumpkins. They’re sweet, they’re plump, and they’re ready for adoption.“ said Paws for a Beer owner Rylan Schoen.
“Every pumpkin deserves to be somewhere safe, and maybe next to a cute dog on the porch. We’re just here to make sure no pumpkin gets left behind. When you rescue a pumpkin, you save a dog,” the news release states.
Paws for a Beer is open from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 501 Harris Ave.
Tastiest Taco Competition returns
Bellingham’s annual taco crawl has returned for the third year, inviting participants to try tacos at eight Bellingham restaurants and vote for their favorite.
The Tastiest Taco Competition, a fundraiser organized by United Way of Whatcom County, runs from Sept. 30 through Oct. 28. Participants can purchase a taco booklet for $30 online or at United Way, which then can be redeemed at each participating restaurant for one free taco.
The participating restaurants include: Black Sheep Bellingham, Bordertown Mexican Grill, COA Mexican Eatery, El Agave, El Gitano, Lilia’s Mexican Cuisine, New Mexico Tamale Company and Tecalitlán Mexican Restaurant.
Bellingham events, trivia nights and live music
Bellingham is full of local events, markets, festivals and other events during the month of October. 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.
Editor’s note (Oct. 3): A previous version of this article included an incorrect address for The Bellinghamsters Plush Adoption Center.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
