Bellis Fair stores shift
January brought a handful of post-holiday changes to the Bellis Fair mall store lineup. Closing were chain stores GameStop (“visit our Sunset Drive location,” read a handwritten sign) and Attic Salt. Trishna Rock and Gems also closed.
But holiday kiosk pop-ups AK Woody and Brick Island Vintage Toys moved into a shared store (#357) by Mammoth Mini Golf. Brick Island co-owner Nate Swanson said he carries vintage Lego and toys such as “Star Wars, G.I. Joe, He-Man, that kind of stuff.” The Cusp, a boutique that came to the mall from La Conner in August, moved into larger space (#340) in part to expand its DIY area which featured candles and resin jewelry. Mall management also said Trishna’s storefront (#406) will be filled by TasTEA Spice & Co., expected to open in February.
Fairfield Inn hotel advances
A new Fairfield Inn by Marriott could be coming to the Cordata neighborhood. The City of Bellingham has issued a consolidated development permit for the planned five-story hotel on a currently empty lot at 870 W. Bakerview Road near Northwest Drive. It’s expected to have about 125 guest rooms, according to conditional land use permit approvals dated Dec. 19. The permit lists the owner as Bakerview Northwest LLC of Bellingham. No timeline is provided in the plans or five-year consolidated permit; building and construction permits are still required after this early step.
Acme Valley rebrands
Acme Valley Ice Cream — and its cafe at 1021 Harris Ave. in the Fairhaven neighborhood — is getting a new name and a bigger footprint. The Poulsbo-based maker of “full strength” ice cream, which began in Bellingham, is rebranding as Crooked Spoon Ice Cream. A company spokesperson said the name change opens new doors for national distribution, including grocery stores in Arizona, Florida and the Northeast. New product packaging and a new sign for the Fairhaven scoop shop will start rolling out over the next several weeks. Ownership, however, is not changing.
Restless & Refurbished moves
Nasty Jack’s Antiques in La Conner has a new owner — and a new name. Restless & Refurbished, which had spent nearly a decade selling antiques from a smaller Metcalf Street storefront in Sedro-Woolley, had a grand (re)opening Jan. 17 at 103 Morris St. in La Conner. Co-owner Sierra Dudley said she and her husband Austin bought downtown fixture Nasty Jack’s from its second-generation owners after one of them “came in to see my little shop I was renting” and they began talking. While Dudley said her store specializes in imported European antiques, Nasty Jack’s memorabilia remains, including metal signs, a Life magazine collection and “a large six-foot cutout of Nasty Jack himself.”
Tidal Vision raises $140M
Bellingham-based green tech company Tidal Vision has raised $140 million to fuel its expansion. The company announced the oversubscribed Series B funding round, led by Cambridge Companies SPG, will support new facilities in Europe, Texas and Ohio, as well as improve production capacity and accelerate research. Tidal Vision is known for taking waste crab shells from fisheries and extracting chitosan — a biomolecule with applications as an industrial polymer — and using its chitosan-based solutions as an alternative to “conventional” chemistry in multiple sectors including water treatment, agriculture and textiles. A spokesperson said the startup, founded in 2015, employs more than 280 people in nine facilities.
Unemployment rates rise
Unemployment rates in Whatcom and Skagit counties increased slightly in the final month of 2024. Preliminary figures from the state Employment Security Department put Whatcom’s December unemployment rate at 4.7% (up from November’s revised 4.6%) and Skagit’s December rate at 5.2% (up from November’s 4.9%). Both counties had lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, however. In December 2023, Whatcom had a 5.1% revised rate and Skagit, 5.6%.
Frank Catalano writes about business and related topics for CDN; reach him at frankcatalano@cascadiadaily.com.
