Whatcom Roundup: Local business under new ownership; minimum wage rises; fire fundraiser

Alyse Smith
·2 min read

Here’s your weekly roundup of the latest retail, business and restaurant activity in and around Whatcom County:

Chocolate Necessities under new ownership

Chocolate Necessities, an artisan chocolate company started in 1986 by Kevin Buck, is now under new ownership, according to the Downtown Bellingham Partnership.

Rose Vogel and Michael Howell have taken over the local business, although Buck will remain involved during the ownership transition, according to an article by Business Pulse.

Chocolate Necessities has two retail locations in Bellingham. The downtown location at 1408 Commercial St. is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The location at 4600 Guide Meridian is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Washington minimum wage increases

Washington state’s minimum wage is set to increase on Jan. 1, according to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. The new minimum wage will be $16.28 per hour, a 54-cent raise from 2023’s minimum wage of $15.74 per hour.

Minors who are 14 or 15 years old must at least be paid 85% of the adult minimum wage at $13.85 per hour.

Fundraiser for business owners affected by Fairhaven fire

Another GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for affected parties from the Fairhaven Terminal Building fire. After the devastating fire on Dec. 17, many fundraisers and community projects were set up to raise money for those affected, including the 2-year-old daughter of the missing man, Nathaniel V. Breaux.

The new GoFundMe has been made for the nine offices above the Harris Avenue Cafe that housed twelve tenants on the second floor. The fundraiser is hoping to raise $4,000 for each of the various business owners, to help them with the expenses of relocating, new office supplies and materials and livelihood costs.

The fundraiser has a goal of $48,000 and has raised $4,666 as of the afternoon of Dec. 28.