Despite Bellingham’s eclectic bar scene, one niche has remained conspicuously unfulfilled: a rooftop bar. Luckily the folks at Chuckanut Bay Distillery plan to open one atop their Cornwall Avenue building this August.
“Being able to see the ocean and have a nice craft cocktail is something I think the town has been lacking for a long time,” said Ethan Lynette, a co-owner at Chuckanut Bay Distillery. “We’re really excited to have a building that really no one had been in for decades, and turn it into something where people can congregate and enjoy being outside.”
The rooftop bar is situated on the fourth story of 1309 Cornwall Ave., above Penny Farthing Bar & Restaurant and next to the tasting room and distillery at 1311 Cornwall Ave.. It features sweeping views of Bellingham Bay and will serve a selection of craft cocktails, plus an exclusive small plates menu.
Lynette said the distillery will debut its third-floor, ballroom-style event space at the same time. The venue has a capacity of 300 and will host weddings, parties, concerts and other events. It even features a commercial kitchen, allowing the owners to offer several customizable food and beverage packages.
Both projects have been a long time coming — in fact, co-owners Matt Howell and Kelly Andrews have been remodeling 1309 Cornwall Ave. since 2017. First built in the early 1900s, the building is best remembered as the former home of JC Penney in the ‘40–60s. Other various businesses have occupied its main floor, but downstairs and upstairs areas sat vacant for more than half a century.
“We’ve been in construction from the ground upwards,” Lynette continued. “There hadn’t been a tenant in here since the ‘60s, a really long-term tenant like JC Penney’s.”
In addition to the tasting room and restaurant, the building also houses a recently-opened speakeasy space on the mezzanine level. Chuckanut Bay even operates its distillery on-site, producing liquors like whiskey, wheat vodka, gin, absinthe and the infamous Krampus liqueur. (Visitors can book distillery tours through Chuckanut Bay’s website.)
Lynette noted that Chuckanut Bay sources grains exclusively from farmers in Whatcom and Skagit counties. After all, he continued, it’s only appropriate to pair one-of-a-kind views with a cocktail that can only be made in the Pacific Northwest.
For more information and official opening date announcements, follow @chuckanutbaydistillery on Instagram. Info: chuckanutbaydistillery.com.
Cocoa Laney is CDN’s lifestyle editor; reach her at cocoalaney@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 128.
