Whatcom Roundup: Clothing store closing permanently; new gallery in Fairhaven
Here’s our weekly roundup of the latest retail and restaurant activity around Whatcom County:
Birch Bay shop closing permanently
A Birch Bay women’s clothing boutique, Betty Be Good, is closing permanently next month, about a year after its owner began to notice a significant drop in customers and revenue from Canada.
Betty Be Good’s owner, Suzanne Smith, announced the closure after 13 years of business with a May 15 social media post.
The Birch Bay boutique is expected to remain open through the end of June, but no official closing date has been set. Until closing, the store will be offering a discount on spring and summer inventory.
Betty Be Good is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 8125 Birch Bay Square St., Suite #201 in Birch Bay.
Bellingham bakery reopening event
Slice of Heaven Bakery and Cafe will host a ribbon-cutting reopening event May 22 to celebrate completing construction after a car damaged the building.
“Over 2 years ago a car drove into our building and almost forced us to close permanently. We after 2+ years and many struggles, we have finally gotten our building repaired,” Colby Abshire, owner of Slice of Heaven Bakery & Cafe emailed The Bellingham Herald.
The bakery and cafe has remained open the last two years despite construction and is regularly open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 300 N. Samish Way in Bellingham.
New studio and shop open in Fairhaven
A new art exhibition gallery, photo studio and store has opened in Bellingham’s Fairhaven neighborhood’s historic Sycamore Square called Istari Creative.
“The studio is a rotating exhibition gallery, a professional photo studio available for rental, and a retail shop carrying locally designed merchandise. Co-founders Andrea Kendall and David Norman bring decades of combined experience in brand strategy, design, marketing, and the visual arts, and built the space as a sustainable creative business, not just a gallery. Through Istari Creative, the consultancy arm, they also offer fractional marketing and brand strategy to businesses in the area,” owner David Norman wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
Istari Creative is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and by appointments at 1200 Harris Ave Suite 309 in Bellingham.
New restaurant and bar in Lynden
Rustic Bar and Grill opened May 13 in Lynden, serving burgers, steaks, soups, salads, seafood, ribs, desserts and craft cocktails.
The menu includes whiskey crab soup, baked lobster dip, beef brisket mac and cheese, seafood scampi, prime rib, tiramisu, affogato and Danish apple trifle.
Rustic Bar and Grill is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 8155 Guide Meridian Rd. in Lynden, Washington, connected to the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites.
New pizza restaurant in Bellingham
A new pizza restaurant opened on May 18 in Bellingham. Can Am Pizza opened its seventh location in Washington state at 1251 Lincoln St Suite 106, near Fred Meyer and Whole Foods Market.
Cam Am Pizza serves a variety of pizzas, as well as wings, calzones, oven baked sub sandwiches, pastas, gyros, salads and more.
The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Bellingham events, trivia nights and live music
Bellingham is full of local events, markets, festivals and other events during the month of May. 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/#.
Last week’s roundup
Last week’s Whatcom Roundup highlighted a new Lynden restaurant, Bellingham workout studio, local events and more.
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.
