Empty Store Fronts Begin To Worry Locals
BELLINGHAM – The effects of the poor economy are prevalent in the Guide Meridian neighborhood. There are numerous store fronts that are vacant in the Bellis Fair Mall, on the edge of the neighborhood, and in various locations throughout the neighborhood.
One place that local resident Pam Smith is worried about is the shopping center located next to Michael’s Arts and Crafts on Meridian Street. She, along with many other residents, wonder, “Who can afford to just let those stores sit?”
Where The Empty Stores Are Sitting
The shopping center, located on the corner of Stuart West and Meridian Street, only has two of its seven available spaces filled. The only two stores currently occupying any space are Sherwin-Williams and Furniture Warehouse. So what about the other empty five stores?
John Volken, the landlord of the space, also owns various other shopping centers and stores throughout Canada and in Richmond. He is also the founder of the John Volken Foundation. This foundation was established to “to provide disadvantaged people with what they need to become self-sufficient, contributing members of society ... to become the best that they can be,” according to the foundation’s website.
Bill Coonar, a director of the John Volken Foundation, feels very optimistic about being located in Bellingham. The complex was created about a year ago and has been slow to lease out ever since. “Three years ago people who have been jumping to move into this location. But now with this economy it has been a lot slower.”
“So far the only business interested in leasing is Tully’s Coffee who is planning to move in soon. We can’t be picky about who moves in now.” With a furniture and paint store being the only stores leasing now, Coonar expects there to potentially be businesses such as drapery or other home accessories to move in next.
Current Tenants Remain Positive
Current tenants, however, feel optimistic about business. Furniture Warehouse employee Anthony Taylor says that he sees a lot of traffic in the current location. The sign located on the corner of the street serves as their exposure as the company does not do any other advertising. Furniture Warehouse has been in the complex about a year and considers business successful so far. Taylor says, “Rent is high here, especially the stores on the end. But it is worth it for the exposure we get being right on Meridian and the amount of traffic.”
Leslie Shrode, store manager of Sherwin-Williams, seems to have similar feelings about the location. “We have a lot of walk-in customers due to our exposure from Meridian Street. I also noticed a lot more traffic once we put up our corner sign,” Shrode said. Sherwin-Williams has been a tenant since the first week of October. There was talk about being located by Woods Coffee, but the owner preferred to serve the north end of town. “It always helps to be able to say that we are close to the big stores like Wal-Mart and Costco. It makes directions really easy.”
Stay tuned for future stores moving into the shopping center.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Weekly Trivia Team Provides Relaxed Social Scene
BELLINGHAM – On any given Sunday night, one can find a group of adults gathered around a booth in the Village Inn Pub ready for a game to start. These people are part of a weekly trivia competition hosted by James Gillies.
Sunday night trivia has been occurring weekly since the middle of December and frequently brings in about 20 people each week. According to Andrea Hattery, a loyal attendee, there are events on Sundays at the Village Inn and at Uisce on Tuesdays.
The usual crowd, according to Hattery, is a group of adults ranging anywhere from 20-40 years old. Teams are comprised of four people each and each night typically has at least 5 teams. Teams are required to pay a $1 entry fee per player and the winning team takes the whole pot.
The Questions Being Asked
Questions are created by the question master, James Gillies, and are from a wide variety of topics. Gillies says he “just thinks of the questions. I’ve been doing it for two and a half years and am starting to run out of things to ask. At the Uisce location, teams suggest categories and I do five questions from each category. At the Village Inn it’s all random.”
These questions range anywhere from “In which state would you find the only royal palace in the United States?” to “What is the fastest sea mammal in the world?” It is a two-part competition with the first half containing 22 questions and the second half containing 23.
Hattery has a strong desire for more adult programs in her neighborhood and says that trivia club is “one of the only chances I have to meet people besides in a bar.” Other players such as George and Cathy Wall say, “We usually come every week. It’s a good way to socialize and meet new people in a fun atmosphere.”
Residents Have Great Desire for Programs
Lack of adult programs in the Guide Meridian neighborhood is a common frustration. According to the neighborhood association co-president, Beverly Jacobs, “Our lack of a community center is one of our neighborhood’s biggest issues. We need to be providing more positive activities for people to be involved in.”
Not only is trivia club helping to provide an adult activity for residents of Bellingham, but it is also helping the local economy. The manager of Village Inn Pub, Mare Boyle, says that they have noticed returning customers who have come to trivia club and never knew otherwise about the restaurant.
More frequent customers may be due to the specials provided the night of trivia club. Village Inn offers $3 burgers and drink specials as well. These specials are available to all customers, not just members of trivia club.
Boyle says she chooses to advertise the trivia club with weekly ads in both the Cascadia Weekly and Take 5 publications. There is also a sign posted inside the Village Inn to inform weekly customers about the event.
To find out more about trivia club or to attend, call the Village Inn at 360-734-2490.
BELLINGHAM – On any given Sunday night, one can find a group of adults gathered around a booth in the Village Inn Pub ready for a game to start. These people are part of a weekly trivia competition hosted by James Gillies.
Sunday night trivia has been occurring weekly since the middle of December and frequently brings in about 20 people each week. According to Andrea Hattery, a loyal attendee, there are events on Sundays at the Village Inn and at Uisce on Tuesdays.
The usual crowd, according to Hattery, is a group of adults ranging anywhere from 20-40 years old. Teams are comprised of four people each and each night typically has at least 5 teams. Teams are required to pay a $1 entry fee per player and the winning team takes the whole pot.
The Questions Being Asked
Questions are created by the question master, James Gillies, and are from a wide variety of topics. Gillies says he “just thinks of the questions. I’ve been doing it for two and a half years and am starting to run out of things to ask. At the Uisce location, teams suggest categories and I do five questions from each category. At the Village Inn it’s all random.”
These questions range anywhere from “In which state would you find the only royal palace in the United States?” to “What is the fastest sea mammal in the world?” It is a two-part competition with the first half containing 22 questions and the second half containing 23.
Hattery has a strong desire for more adult programs in her neighborhood and says that trivia club is “one of the only chances I have to meet people besides in a bar.” Other players such as George and Cathy Wall say, “We usually come every week. It’s a good way to socialize and meet new people in a fun atmosphere.”
Residents Have Great Desire for Programs
Lack of adult programs in the Guide Meridian neighborhood is a common frustration. According to the neighborhood association co-president, Beverly Jacobs, “Our lack of a community center is one of our neighborhood’s biggest issues. We need to be providing more positive activities for people to be involved in.”
Not only is trivia club helping to provide an adult activity for residents of Bellingham, but it is also helping the local economy. The manager of Village Inn Pub, Mare Boyle, says that they have noticed returning customers who have come to trivia club and never knew otherwise about the restaurant.
More frequent customers may be due to the specials provided the night of trivia club. Village Inn offers $3 burgers and drink specials as well. These specials are available to all customers, not just members of trivia club.
Boyle says she chooses to advertise the trivia club with weekly ads in both the Cascadia Weekly and Take 5 publications. There is also a sign posted inside the Village Inn to inform weekly customers about the event.
To find out more about trivia club or to attend, call the Village Inn at 360-734-2490.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
New pizza shop set to open up near Whatcom Community College
BELLINGHAM –Westside Pizza will be opening a new store near Whatcom Community College on Cordata Parkway scheduled for June 1. There are currently 17 locations throughout Washington with the closest in Lynden.
Why Choose Bellingham ?
According to Jason West, the franchise coordinator, “it just made sense to open in Bellingham. All of our other stores have been in smaller cities and we are ready to expand.” The owner, Alden McCurdy, went to Western Washington University and knows the Bellingham area well. However it was not always easy to start the business here. When asked what it was like to work with the city of Bellingham, McCurdy replied, “we definitely had to jump through some hoops. They made us re-submit permits once which were a pain. They made me follow rules to the t.”
Location so close to the community college was intentional in hopes that of increasing the size of the customer base. “We expect a lot of students to be stopping by and if nothing more at least they are getting exposure to our store. We even have one or two Whatcom students working for us so we hope to spread the word that way as well,” West said. McCurdy also added that, “We are expecting to be primarily a delivery service so I chose this location for all the apartments in the area. I am sure there will be a lot of day traffic from the school though.”
Being primarily a delivery service could serve to be tough, however. According to Beverly Jacobs, a co-president of the neighborhood association, the intersection of Meridian Street and West Bakerview Road is one of the most congested in the neighborhood. Delivery cars going in and out of Westside Pizza on Cordata, one street over, will only increase this traffic and may delay delivery times.
One Whatcom Community College student, Johnny Kuan, when asked what kind of pizza he is looking for said “I like pizza places that offer a wide variety of pizzas. Sometimes I'll feel boring and want a simple pepperoni pizza but other times I'll be in the adventurous mood and want artichoke, pineapple and pepperoni. It's always good for a pizza joint to have a wide selection.” He also says he feels he will be a frequent customer. “My friend Steve and I always go for pizza on Mondays,” Kuan said.
What's Being Served Up
Although the favorite pizza varies location to location, one of the favorites, according to West, is “Death by Pizza.” This 5-pound pizza features pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage, pineapple, beef, mushrooms, olives, onions, green peppers and bacon bits. Other pizzas on the menu include garlic chicken, chicken bacon ranch, barbeque chicken and the gourmet veggie, just to name a few. All of the medium pizzas tend to be about $15 but may vary a few dollars depending on store location and type of pizza you desire.
Also, on every box of pizza there are points which customers can collect to get discounts on certain products. In addition, according to their website, “we offer fundraising programs that could put 25% of your sales generated into your organization.” These fundraising events tend to happen fairly often according to West.
Westside Prepared To Face Challenges
There are other restaurants around with which Westside Pizza will have to compete. One of these places is Extremes Sports Grill located on Meridian Street. Extremes also offers pizzas and calzones that are made from homemade dough and baked to order in a wood stone oven along with sandwiches and various appetizers. The manager, Carl Schuessler, said “Any new store will be competition. But sometimes competition can be a good thing. We have a wide variety of customers ordering various things so I am not too worried.”
The current recession will also serve to be an obstacle for Westside. Another Whatcom Community College student, Graham Leake, expressed that he would currently only be willing to spend about $10 on a pizza. Westside will lose customers such as these if they choose to keep the average price of a pizza at $15.
BELLINGHAM –Westside Pizza will be opening a new store near Whatcom Community College on Cordata Parkway scheduled for June 1. There are currently 17 locations throughout Washington with the closest in Lynden.
Why Choose Bellingham ?
According to Jason West, the franchise coordinator, “it just made sense to open in Bellingham. All of our other stores have been in smaller cities and we are ready to expand.” The owner, Alden McCurdy, went to Western Washington University and knows the Bellingham area well. However it was not always easy to start the business here. When asked what it was like to work with the city of Bellingham, McCurdy replied, “we definitely had to jump through some hoops. They made us re-submit permits once which were a pain. They made me follow rules to the t.”
Location so close to the community college was intentional in hopes that of increasing the size of the customer base. “We expect a lot of students to be stopping by and if nothing more at least they are getting exposure to our store. We even have one or two Whatcom students working for us so we hope to spread the word that way as well,” West said. McCurdy also added that, “We are expecting to be primarily a delivery service so I chose this location for all the apartments in the area. I am sure there will be a lot of day traffic from the school though.”
Being primarily a delivery service could serve to be tough, however. According to Beverly Jacobs, a co-president of the neighborhood association, the intersection of Meridian Street and West Bakerview Road is one of the most congested in the neighborhood. Delivery cars going in and out of Westside Pizza on Cordata, one street over, will only increase this traffic and may delay delivery times.
One Whatcom Community College student, Johnny Kuan, when asked what kind of pizza he is looking for said “I like pizza places that offer a wide variety of pizzas. Sometimes I'll feel boring and want a simple pepperoni pizza but other times I'll be in the adventurous mood and want artichoke, pineapple and pepperoni. It's always good for a pizza joint to have a wide selection.” He also says he feels he will be a frequent customer. “My friend Steve and I always go for pizza on Mondays,” Kuan said.
What's Being Served Up
Although the favorite pizza varies location to location, one of the favorites, according to West, is “Death by Pizza.” This 5-pound pizza features pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage, pineapple, beef, mushrooms, olives, onions, green peppers and bacon bits. Other pizzas on the menu include garlic chicken, chicken bacon ranch, barbeque chicken and the gourmet veggie, just to name a few. All of the medium pizzas tend to be about $15 but may vary a few dollars depending on store location and type of pizza you desire.
Also, on every box of pizza there are points which customers can collect to get discounts on certain products. In addition, according to their website, “we offer fundraising programs that could put 25% of your sales generated into your organization.” These fundraising events tend to happen fairly often according to West.
Westside Prepared To Face Challenges
There are other restaurants around with which Westside Pizza will have to compete. One of these places is Extremes Sports Grill located on Meridian Street. Extremes also offers pizzas and calzones that are made from homemade dough and baked to order in a wood stone oven along with sandwiches and various appetizers. The manager, Carl Schuessler, said “Any new store will be competition. But sometimes competition can be a good thing. We have a wide variety of customers ordering various things so I am not too worried.”
The current recession will also serve to be an obstacle for Westside. Another Whatcom Community College student, Graham Leake, expressed that he would currently only be willing to spend about $10 on a pizza. Westside will lose customers such as these if they choose to keep the average price of a pizza at $15.
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