Bellingham Business Journal, January 04, 2016

Page 1

Vol. 24 No. 1

Jan. 2016 How a creative plan for filling vacant downtown storefronts is succeeding [Page 6]

The Buzz If you can’t pay for it, don’t buy it A family-owned appliance business shares its philosophy on growth and business. APPLIANCE, 4

The case for co-ops Business owners and a WWU professor are making a case for the cooperative business model. CO-OPS, 17

The future promises change for the grocery business An industry leader sees millennials and succession as imminent challenges for independent grocers. GROCERY, 7 Renovation work is almost done at the Waples Mercantile Building at 444 Front St. in Lynden. The building burned in June 2008. [OLIVER LAZENBY | THE BBJ]

The heart of downtown Lynden beats again

It’s not too late. Last-minute strategies to save on your 2015 tax bill.

A hotel and a mix of retail tenants are opening in the historic Waples Mercantile Building Some call it the heart of Lynden. With an injection of several well-established businesses, the old Lynden Department Store is beating life into downtown Lynden once again. Developers are almost done with a $6 million remodel of the historic building at 444 Front St., which partially burned in 2008 and has sat vacant since. The building’s developers renamed it the Waples Mercantile Building in honor of

FINANCE, 16

H.W. “Billy” Waples, who opened a general opened next door in December. Avenue Bread, store in 1897 that became the Lynden Departanother business with a Fairhaven location, ment Store. is aiming to open a restaurant in the building Two well established Whatcom County busiearly next year. nesses opened in the building’s 9,500-squarefoot first floor retail space in late 2015 and three WAPLES, PAGE 3 more will open their doors in early 2016. So far, the building is reminiscent of Fairhaven. Village Books and Paper Dreams opened a second location in the Waples Building in November, and its Fairhaven neighbor, Drizzle Olive Oil and Vinegar, WE SELL AND BUY:

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY • Refurbished and Pre-Owned Apple iPads, iPhones and iPods • Refurbished and Pre-Owned Barcode Scanners, Printers, Parts, Batteries and Accessories • We offer a quality pre-owned product for a fraction of the cost of new!

WE REPAIR (touch screens, LCD, battery replacement and more):

• Apple iPads and iPhones • Barcode Scanners, Printers • We offer quality one-time flat-rate repairs as well as annual repair contracts

OTHER SERVICES:

• Rent/Lease both small and large quantities of iPads, iPods and Barcode Scanning Equipment • Battery management/refurbishment program for barcode scanners

LOCATION

7044 Portal Way Box 120 Unit K4, Ferndale WA 98248

1491771

BY OLIVER LAZENBY The Bellingham Business Journal

Your money matters


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