"The Barkley location is central to the daily lives and commutes of Bellingham and Whatcom County residents," Mt. Baker Ski Area marketing manager Amy Trowbridge said in the October news release announcing the ski area's new shop, as reported by The Bellingham Herald. She was explaining why the ski area put its first retail shop beyond the mountains at 2930 Newmarket St.
Mt. Baker isn't the only business to reach that conclusion this fall. Within a few weeks, a Blaine cookie bakery, a Bellingham waffle shop, and a 90-year-old Bellingham paint company each made Barkley the address for their next move. Each one came from somewhere else and chose Barkley for the same reason Trowbridge gave. Over the next two months, that gives the shopping center a winter calendar of its own.
The mountain came down to Newmarket Street
The Mt. Baker Ski Area shop officially opened Oct. 1 at 2930 Newmarket St., Suite 115. The Herald described it as the ski area's first retail shop located beyond the mountains. According to the release, it stocks Baker merchandise, winter gear, gift cards, and information about the mountain. Trowbridge said it was meant to be "easily accessible before the mountain opens and by everyone, whether they are an experienced Baker local or someone who has never visited the ski area."
The hours suit a seasonal pop-up more than a year-round store. The shop is open four days a week, and only through January:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Thursday | Noon to 6 p.m. |
| Friday | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Sunday | Noon to 6 p.m. |
| Monday through Wednesday | Closed |
That schedule matters if you're shopping for gifts. Midweek trips are out, and the store's last stretch overlaps with December, when the rest of Barkley's calendar fills up.
A Blaine bakery picked the drive-thru across from Lowe's
Chewzy Cookies, which the Herald describes as Blaine-based, set its Bellingham location at 1259 Barkley Blvd. A Sept. 26 Instagram post from the bakery called the spot "the little drive-thru across from Lowe's." The bakery announced an Oct. 3 grand opening there. The Herald reported that the site has a drive-through, a walk-up window, and covered outdoor seating, and that the menu runs to more than 12 cookie varieties plus dirty sodas, coffee, and Lotus drinks.
Chewzy's Bellingham order page offers same-day pickup and lists an ordering window of Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
A Blaine business needed one Bellingham site, and it chose a drive-thru on the same stretch of Barkley Blvd as a home improvement store. That location fits Trowbridge's point about commutes.
The paint store will close downtown and move everything to Barkley
The biggest move takes effect after the holidays. Stockton's Paint has been in business for more than 90 years. On Nov. 2 it announced plans to close its downtown Bellingham location and consolidate both Bellingham stores into what its press release called a "high-capacity central hub," according to the Herald.
That hub is the store already operating in Barkley Village at 1255 Barkley Blvd., Suite 109, and the consolidation takes effect Jan. 1. The release says the move "combines the full inventory, delivery fleet and expert staff of both existing locations under one roof" to serve "professional painting contractors and residential DIYers across the region."
The address is a few doors down from Chewzy's drive-thru at 1259 Barkley Blvd. Starting in January, anyone picking up paint for a weekend project will have one Bellingham Stockton's store to go to, with the company's full inventory in a single place.
The Herald article announcing the move also links to the paper's Oct. 20 report, Commercial real estate report: Downtown Bellingham vacancies continue to rise. Stockton's describes the plan as scaling up. Once it takes effect, it will still mean one more downtown storefront leaving and one more reason for north-side errands to end at Barkley.
The waffles, and the corner by the theater
Two more addresses inside the center changed hands or plans this fall.
- Sweet As Waffles, 2930 Newmarket St. The waffle shop announced a second Bellingham location in Barkley Village. Cascadia Daily News reported Oct. 8 that the Barkley shop is an expansion, not a relocation, and that construction was underway. It shares a street address with the Mt. Baker shop.
- 3004 Cinema Place, next to Regal Barkley. Luna's Bistro closed in September. In October, the Herald reported a Washington Department of Revenue business license filed for the same address under the name "Crazy Pho You."
The Sweet As Waffles move follows the same pattern as the others. An established Bellingham business wanted a second room and put it at Barkley, inside the same building as the ski area's shop. The Cinema Place space keeps a restaurant use next to the movie theater, under a new name.
Barkley's own holiday calendar
More traffic brings events, and Barkley Village has two of its own on the calendar before the year ends. Both are listed on the Barkley Village events page.
Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26. The barre3 and Ride Culture studios are hosting their first Turkey Trot, a casual 5K that starts at 9 a.m. from 2130 Premier Way. Walkers, joggers, and runners are all welcome, and the organizers invite people to bring family, friends, kids, and dogs. Kids and dogs don't need to sign up.
The run supports the Bellingham Food Bank. Organizers are collecting protein-rich nonperishable food and selling limited-edition Turkey Trot T-shirts. To RSVP, find Nov. 26 on the barre3 or Ride Culture class schedule, online or in the app, and sign up there.
Thursday evening, Dec. 10. The Barkley Village Holiday Market runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and features local makers, artists, and small businesses. The center's main events calendar lists the market at 8 to 11 p.m., so confirm the time on the market's own page before you go.
Thanksgiving week through New Year's lays out like this:
- Now through January: the Mt. Baker Ski Area shop is open Thursday through Sunday at 2930 Newmarket St., Suite 115.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 9 a.m.: the Turkey Trot starts from 2130 Premier Way.
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 5 to 8 p.m.: Holiday Market at Barkley Village.
- Jan. 1: Stockton's Paint begins operating its Bellingham business from 1255 Barkley Blvd., Suite 109.
The Holiday Market falls on a Thursday, which is also a day the ski shop is open. On Dec. 10, the market and the Mt. Baker shop's noon to 6 p.m. hours overlap for one hour.
What the moves have in common
The ski area, the Blaine bakery, the waffle shop, and the paint company each had other options, and each picked a Barkley address for its Bellingham presence. The ski area said publicly that it chose Barkley for its place in daily routines and commutes.
For people who live on the north and east sides of town, that puts a ski shop, a cookie drive-thru, a Thanksgiving 5K, and a December market in or beside Barkley Village this season. A full-inventory paint store joins them on New Year's Day.
If you live near Barkley and want to know how a busier commercial center nearby might affect your home's value over time, Jacob Petz is happy to talk through what these changes mean for your corner of Bellingham. Let's Connect.
