"That's part of the reason why it feels like the tenor of the conversation is going through a concentrated period of worry," Jenny Hagemann told Cascadia Daily News in late September. Hagemann is development and communications director for the Downtown Bellingham Partnership. She was talking about Rock and Rye Oyster House, which said in June that it would close this fall after 12 years on State Street.
That worry makes sense when you look at the calendar. Avellino Coffeehouse closed July 11 after 20 years on Railroad Avenue. Welcome Road Wine & Coffee closed on Champion Street July 18. Red Star Taco Bar served its last night Sept. 25, and Rock and Rye followed on Sept. 26. Temple Bar's website set Oct. 3 as its final day of service.
Follow those addresses one at a time, though, and most of them already have new tenants lined up. The newcomers are a different kind of business from the ones that left. The rooms that served dinner are mostly becoming coffee bars and lounges designed for people to sit and stay.
The Addresses, One by One
| Address | Who left | What's coming |
|---|---|---|
| 300 W. Champion St. | Welcome Road Wine & Coffee, closed July 18 | Jackalope Coffee & Lounge, expected to open in September |
| 1329 Railroad Ave. | Avellino Coffeehouse, closed July 11 | A boba tea shop, lease signed mid-September |
| 1135 Railroad Ave. | Woods Coffee, closed May 31 | Café Hazeltree and Emmaquatics, opening set for Oct. 3 |
| 1327 N. State St. | Red Star Taco Bar, closed Sept. 25 | An expansion of Sweet Bay Café, same owners |
| 1145 N. State St. | Rock and Rye Oyster House, closed after Sept. 26 | A new tenant with a lease in progress, not yet named |
| 306 W. Champion St. | Temple Bar, final day of service set for Oct. 3 | Owner Vincent Lalonde is looking for a buyer to keep the brand going |
A few State Street blocks over, Wink Wink owner Jenn Mason has announced a gift boutique called The Lost Gentlemen's Club at 1153 N. State St. It's planned for this fall, with no opening date announced yet.
How Fast the Spaces Turned Over
Look at the time between each exit and the next lease, and the handoffs were quick. Cascadia Daily News reported Jackalope moving into 300 W. Champion St. "barely one month" after Welcome Road closed. The Avellino space sat for about two months before a boba tea shop owner signed a lease in mid-September. Rock and Rye's lease was already in progress on Sept. 24, two days before its last service.
Both of those buildings belong to Daylight Properties. Owner Jovan Hall told Cascadia Daily News that her company owns and manages 19 mixed-use buildings downtown, specializing in historic properties. When one landlord holds that many storefronts, a departing tenant usually means a conversation about the next one, not a dark window.
The Downtown Bellingham Partnership tracks this more broadly. Its quarterly report on downtown business licenses, submitted to the nonprofit Washington Main Street program, shows about five new licenses issued for every closure. A license is not the same thing as a busy storefront. Still, that ratio is why Hagemann and others described this year as churn rather than decline.
Some of the turnover also stays with the same people. Padraic Markle, one of the owners behind both Red Star and Sweet Bay Café, told The Bellingham Herald that the two restaurants already shared the room at 1327 N. State St. on alternating hours. "This is more of a consolidation of our operations than a full closure," he said.
What's Replacing Dinner Service
The two newcomers with the clearest plans both describe themselves in the same terms.
Nathan and Amanda Warner first planned Jackalope as an outlet for Lotus Coffee, a roastery Nathan and a few partners recently bought. Over time it became what Cascadia Daily News called a cozy "third space," with a curated book selection and plant starts that visitors can adopt. The plan includes coffee, tea, beer, wine and draft cocktails once the liquor license comes through. The small menu runs from charcuterie to garlic bean dip and open-face sandwich melts. Jackalope also hopes to host Silent Book Club Bellingham, which used to meet at Welcome Road on the last Tuesday of the month. Planned hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The address has history. Black Drop Coffeehouse was at 300 W. Champion St. from 2002 to 2020, so the corner is going back to coffee.
On Railroad Avenue, Café Hazeltree and Emmaquatics are sharing the former Woods Coffee space. Emmaquatics was previously at 1208 Cornwall Ave. and closed for about a month to make the move. In a social media post quoted by Cascadia Daily News, the businesses described what they're aiming for:
"Hopefully, this is going to be your low-pressure space away from home and work. We want you to feel welcome — whether it's to grab a coffee on the run, stop and stare at some fish, or study for hours over our free hot tea station."
The October schedule has Café Hazeltree open from 2 p.m. to midnight Wednesday through Sunday. When the coffee bar is closed, guests can use the space as a lounge. Emmaquatics is open 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 12:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday.
The hours tell the story. Before it closed, Rock and Rye served from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Red Star ran 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and until midnight on Fridays. Those late hours aren't going away downtown. A few blocks over, a café and lounge that stays open until midnight five nights a week is taking them over.
Hagemann said the bars and restaurants doing well have usually added something extra, like puppy yoga or makers markets, or they serve as an essential third place for their customers. The partnership tells business owners that "lights on and doors open isn't enough anymore." Jackalope and Hazeltree read like answers to that advice.
Why Full-Service Dining Took the Hit
Not every category had the same year. Cascadia Daily News reported that full-service restaurants are having a particularly hard time, citing higher costs and fewer people eating out. In a Border Policy Research Institute survey taken between March and May, 91% of respondents in Whatcom County's food and beverage industry said the drop in Canadian visitors was hurting them.
Rock and Rye's administrative manager, Lorriane Sullivan, told The Bellingham Herald in June that the restaurant was serving noticeably fewer Canadian guests, "down significantly even from peak Covid drops." She also pointed to higher food, labor, utility and rent costs. At Red Star, Markle said "the cost of everything is high for everyone, and discretionary spending is down."
Economics aren't the whole picture. Darby Galligan, a former city planner, started this September as the city's new urban transformation strategist. She said exit interviews show personal reasons like health, retirement or relocation can drive a closure as much as finances do. Separately, Lalonde, 62, bought Mount Bakery in 2007 and Temple Bar in 2019. He said he wanted to "lighten his load" and focus on the Mount Bakery Cafe in Fairhaven. "If I were younger and had an infinite amount of time, there's no way I would be selling," he told Cascadia Daily News.
The Part That Isn't Filled Yet
The fast handoffs on Champion, Railroad and State are real, but they don't cover all of downtown. This spring, a city report found that almost 15% of ground-level commercial space in Bellingham's walkable center was vacant. Mayor Kim Lund's June executive order directs the city to use every tool it has to fill those spaces. Galligan's role came out of that order. She acts as a single point of contact for people who want to open a business or invest in property, describing herself as a "telephone operator, matchmaker and problem solver."
Several items from the table were still unconfirmed in local reporting as of early October:
- Whether Temple Bar found a buyer to keep the 26-year-old name going after its scheduled Oct. 3 final day
- The actual last day of Mount Bakery's downtown café next door
- Whether Jackalope opened in September as planned
- The names of the boba shop at 1329 Railroad Ave. and the incoming tenant at 1145 N. State St.
- When Sweet Bay Café's expansion into the former Red Star room takes effect, and whether its 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. hours, Tuesday through Sunday, will change
Dates on the Downtown Calendar
The Downtown Bellingham Partnership has these events scheduled through the end of the year:
- Downtown Trick-or-Treat, Friday, Oct. 30, 4 to 6 p.m.
- First Friday, Nov. 6
- Holiday Wine Walk, Friday, Nov. 13, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
- First Friday, Dec. 4
The Downtown Sounds summer series has ended for 2026.
A storefront that changes hands within weeks says something about the block around it, and the same holds for the homes and mixed-use buildings nearby. If you own near downtown Bellingham, or you're considering a property within walking distance of Champion, Railroad or State, Jacob Petz can walk you through how this turnover fits into the long-term value of your address. Let's Connect.
