A Whatcom County coffee company is getting ready to be in the heart of the Bellingham art district.
The Woods Coffee will be leasing 2,600 square feet of the ground floor in the historic Flatiron Building at 1313 Bay St., the former home of CH2M Hill. The upper floors of the building will be occupied by Logos Bible Software, which is expanding into the building later this year.
Woods’ Owner Wes Herman said he plans to have the new café open later this year. The main entrance with be on the Prospect Street side of the building and the café will take up most of the ground floor. The 101-year-old building will present some challenges in terms of making tenant im-provements because of its historic status, but Herman said the interior will have that Woods Coffee feel.
“It’s an interesting space for us, especially since it’s not a square area that can be easily divided up,” Herman said. “I really like the fact it has a ton of glass windows and space for outside seating. We’re very excited about this location.”
Herman believes this spot will cater to the nearby office employees, particularly from the nearby civic center, as well as the evening art crowd, par-ticularly after the Pickford Cinema opens nearby on Bay Street. To blend in with the art district, Herman plans to have a dedicated area for live music performances.
This will be the 10th café in Whatcom County for The Woods Coffee. Herman said they had been pondering a second downtown Bellingham spot for some time, because the Railroad Avenue café in the Washington Grocery Building near La Fiamma has been well received since opening two years ago.
Thanks for the post Dave. Congrats to Wes and the team at Woods, hoping for sustainable growth all the way until they reach my part-time home in Seattle
Congrats to Woods coffee. What a great location – and an awesome landlord too. Otion can’t wait to have your coffee that much closer to us. =)
When will they start opening out side whatcom county?