Progress 2022

From access at Bender and Badger roads, it will serve Lynden and points east

Tribune

LYNDEN A new PeaceHealth facility to bene t the north county will begin to take shape in 2022.

e preparatory signs are already there at 8844 Benson Road, north Lynden: a broad

driveway and bridge over a rerouted creek, with tree plantings nearby. Straight ahead, in a corner of the 5-acre property, will be a new medical clinic serving not just Lynden but also Sumas, Everson and Nooksack using East Badger Road/State Route 546.

This fulfills a long-held goal to bring enhanced healthcare service to the communities of north Whatcom County, said leaders of PeaceHealth Medical Group as they rst announced the plans in 2019, bought this site in 2020 and then broke ground in 2021.

As usual, it takes longer to get a major project done than planned, so the expected

PeaceHealth

Continued from C3

opening is now in 2023. Exxel Paci c Inc. of Bellingham is the design-build general contractor. Other partners involved are Carletti Architects of Mount Vernon, Paci c Surveying & Engineering of Bellingham, Kingworks Structural Engineers of Bellingham and Petra of La Palma, California, for master planning.

“We are making good progress on the project,” said Tim Tabert of Exxel Paci c. “We have completed the majority of the Phase 1 work, which included the access driveway and bridge, as well as utility stubs into the site. The Phase 2 work, which includes the clinic building and remaining site improvements, is in the design phase and the goal is to start construction on Phase 2 in Spring of 2022.”

PeaceHealth has an orthopedic clinic in Lynden, but its closest

primary clinic is 12 miles away in Bellingham.

The new 24,400-square-foot clinic will house primary care services and walk-in urgent care as well as absorb the existing orthopedic clinic. Specialties that could be added, as demand dictates, include cardiology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, physical therapy, and ancillary services such as imaging and a laboratory.

A site plan shows 162 parking stalls along the property boundary with Kulshan Veterinary Hospital. In the opposite direction are residential neighborhoods and Homestead Farms Golf Course.

Since 1990 Lynden has grown from fewer than 6,000 residents to around 16,000 today, noted Mayor Scott Korthuis when he spoke at last August’s groundbreaking. For that amount of growth, Lynden is medically under-served.

“For our residents and those

of the north county, this means closer and easier access to urgent care services and even some types of specialty care,” he said.

In his remarks Korthuis thanked Lynden City Council member

Gary Bode for advancing the north-county PeaceHealth clinic project at every step along the way. Also in attendance were the mayors of Everson, Nooksack and Sumas and County Executive

Satpal Sidhu.

Vancouver-based PeaceHealth is a not-for-profit Catholic health system providing care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

Everson to host summer festival in 2022

Tribune

EVERSON — With the EversonNooksack Chamber of Commerce now in mothballs, the City of Everson will host this year’s summer festival, and its future festivals.

is year, the Everson-Nooksack Summer Festival will be held on July 8-9. Everson Police Chief Dan MacPhee explained that he is still working on the list of festival events and entertainment, as well as the event’s start and end times each day.

Once that information is available, it will be posted at the City of Everson website and on the Everson Police Department’s Facebook page.

Transitions

MacPhee talked recently about the transition from Everson and Nooksack sharing a chamber of commerce to no longer having a chamber, while the city of Everson continues with some of the community’s signature activities.

Everson-Nooksack Chamber had solely been a volunteer-run organization. In recent years, the volunteer base slowly decreased in size.

In contrast to promoting local business and industry, the chamber primarily

focused on a summer festival, as well as a Christmas season festival in which letters to Santa would be dropped o at Everson City Hall for the North Pole. All letters get replies, MacPhee said.

MacPhee has served the city on the police force for 22 years, almost nine of those as its police chief following the death of long-time former Everson Police Chief Erik Ramstead who died in 2013 of cancer. For six years, MacPhee was also the chamber’s president. He started with organizing part of the two cities joint summer festival with food vendors initially and eventually chaired the entire festival.

No festival in 2020-2021

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Everson-Nooksack Chamber decided not to hold the summer festival in 2020 or in 2021 after talks with the Whatcom County Health Department. Since a good portion of the festival takes place in Everson City Park, which has multiple entrances, it would be too di cult to oversee – and count – people in attendance.

Not holding the summer festival for two consecutive years proved to be a turning point for the chamber, which then solicited feedback in August 2021. e response, MacPhee said, was pretty minimal. So

more feedback was sought in October 2021.

e decision to disband the chamber was made via a Zoom meeting of chamber members. Essentially there was no opposition, MacPhee said.

“We will be working with local business owners and community members to establish a volunteer group that will organize the festival our community has enjoyed over the years,” MacPhee initially responded via email. “Dissolving the chamber was not a decision that was come to lightly. After careful consideration and discussion, this was seen as an opportunity for business owners to collaborate and take this in a di erent direction, helping to positively promote each other’s business.”

What’s next?

MacPhee explained that for several years, the chamber was operated by a small group of organizational o cers “who do not own a business in our community.”

“Also, functioning with a very small group of volunteers, and dealing with a pandemic for the past two years, it has been very di cult to continue as we have,” MacPhee said. “We appreciate everyone who has been involved over the years, and we very much appreciate their hard work

and dedication.”

What is next for the community to serve the function of promoting business?

MacPhee said he thinks it is a time for the community, especially those in the business sector, to come up with new fresh ideas. He is seeing di erent local

businesses cross-promoting each other in social media. Likewise, Everson Police Department has been updating the community on fun and emergency-related news. He sees a community coming out of the di culty of COVID-19 and oods with a lot of community pride.

COMPLETING THE CIRCLE

Len VanderStelt returns to Lynden Tribune and Print Co., nearly 45 years after first working for the family-run business

LYNDEN — It’s not always progress to be on the wrong side of 50 and back where you worked your rst job.

But for Len VanderStelt, returning to his professional roots was good business sense.

Since August 2021, VanderStelt has been general manager at Lynden Tribune and Print Co.

“When my general manager Aaron Schi man decided to leave, Len was one of the rst people I thought of as a possible replacement,” said Michael Lewis, publisher of the Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record newspapers. Lewis and his wife Mary Jo are owners of the Lynden Tribune and Print Co.

Lewis and VanderStelt “met for co ee several times” and talked about the newspapers and printing and “what the future might be.”

VanderStelt’s wife Vicki said that when Lewis called him about the job that they both “felt pretty quickly that it was a good move for him.”

Lewis said that he and Mary Jo “are delighted to have him at the helm.”

“I was able to get him to accept my o er and complete the circle by returning to his printing roots at Lynden Tribune & Print Co.,” Lewis said.

After more than two decades working for someone else, Vicki said that “the tim-

ing seemed right” for Len to return to e Tribune

“For the rst time in about 25 years, we headed di erent directions in the morning,” Vicki VanderStelt said. “He headed to Lynden and I went to Bellingham. Quite a change for us. I miss not having him right there.”

Again working at Lynden Tribune & Print Co., VanderStelt said that no two days are the same.

“I especially like the hands-on part of the job,” he said.

Going to work

Michael Lewis, Lynden Tribune publisher since 1992, remembers when VanderStelt rst worked for the Lewis family business back in 1977. Lewis, in college at the time, speaks highly of VanderStelt, who at the time was 16 and in high school.

“His aunt Agnes Roorda was our o ce manager at that time and I believe Len’s mother Janet worked back in our bindery department overseeing a crew of women who inserted e Tribune each week,” Lewis said. “Len started work in the print shop and learned a lot, including how to run the Goss Community newspaper press.”

Lewis said that even at a young age, VanderStelt was a hard-working and conscientious employee, “always eager to learn.”

“His mechanical abilities were evident right away as he learned about the various machines we had in our printing operation,” Lewis recalled. “He was hands-on and had a talent for understanding how they operated and how to x them or problem solve when issues arose, which is routine in our line of business.”

According to Lewis, it didn’t take long before VanderStelt was “able to run the newspaper press as well as other printing and bindery machines we had in the plant.”

On his own

On Christmas, 1986, Len and Vicki had their rst date. ey met at the Lynden Tribune.

“Len had already been at the Trib for a few years before I started,” Vicki said.

In 1997, Len and Vicki decided to buy a print shop of their own.

“I must admit I was a bit surprised,” Lew-

After more than two decades running his own business, “the timing seemed right” for Len VanderStelt to return to the Lynden Tribune & Print Co. Again working at the Tribune, VanderStelt said that no two days are the same. “I especially like the hands-on part of the job,” he said. (Bill Helm/Lynden Tribune) See VanderStelt on C11

Proudly ...

Guide Insurance moves to Front Street

LYNDEN - Guide Insurance has moved to Front Street. e father and son business relocated for more space, higher visibility and a better environment for their employees and customers.

Guide Insurance was owned by Joel Kok’s father-in-law and was started in 1952. Joel Kok joined the business in 1982 and his son Brett Kok joined him at the end of 2011.

“ is one is about 500 square feet bigger,” said Brett Kok, owner

of Guide Insurance, about the new location. “[It has] higher visibility, we have our own parking lot, it allows us to have more people in the location itself and we were starting to run out of space in our other [location.]”

Both Brett and Joel are happy with the move.

“And the employees like it a lot,” said Joel Kok. “More open, a lot more natural light than the other place did and more conference rooms for customers to meet with,

See Guide Insurance on C19

Joel and Brett Kok, father and son owners of Guide Insurance, stand in Guide’s new location on Front Street in Lynden. (Leora Watson/Lynden Tribune)

Business has been Kok-family owned, operated since 1952; Joel Kok joined the business in 1982, son Brett joined him in late-2011

VanderStelt: Back with Lynden Tribune

Continued from C9

is said. “But I knew that with their work ethic and printing smarts they would make a good team and be successful.”

e rst ve or so years running Sunshine Printing, Len and Vicki worked in the same o ce.

Although it was a big o ce, it still meant “a lot of being together,” Vicki recalled.

As things evolved, VanderStelt spent more time on the equipment, doing everything from prepping stock, running a press, any kind of letterpress and bindery work.

“ ere wasn’t a piece of equipment that he couldn’t operate, and he could come up with a solution for everything,” Vicki said. “I’m still amazed at some of the things that he was able to x without having to call someone in.”

Len and Vicki ran Sunshine Printing for just shy of 20 years before they de-

cided to sell the business to Lithtex NW in Bellingham.

“Part of the contract was that we all got jobs,” VanderStelt said.

One of his employees at Lithtex NW was a machine operator named Joe Taylor.

ey worked together at Lithtex NW for three-plus years.

At Lithtex NW, VanderStelt was responsible for production ow as well as operations.

“ ere was another fellow co-worker and the three of us worked very well together,” Taylor said. “We all worked o each other’s skill sets to make for a continuous smooth ow of production. Len has very good leadership skills, and a strong mechanical ability.”

When VanderStelt decided to return to the Lynden Tribune and Print Co., he asked Taylor to come along.

“I would follow Len wherever he worked, if asked,” Taylor said.

‘I just don’t know when to quit’

VanderStelt explained the way he works as paying attention to the details.

“Maybe my biggest drawback is I don’t know when to quit,” he said.

Even his hobbies require that he work hard. VanderStelt likes to build, sell, trade classic cars. Currently he owns ve pre1970 cars, of which half are fully restored, the other half are in the restoration phase.

“I tend to build them all myself,” he said. “I’ve always found cars fascinating.”

Growing up in Poway, a suburb just east of San Diego, Len VanderStelt and his family moved to Whatcom County in 1976. A year later, his professional career began at Lynden Tribune and Print Co.

In his roughly 45-year career, VanderStelt has either worked at Sunshine Printing/Lithtex NW or Lynden Tribune and Print Co.

“I worked there until I came back here,” VanderStelt said. “ So I haven’t moved around a lot.”

Trying something new

Green Earth Technology celebrates 20 years; Company made waves in 2002 by bringing composting to Whatcom County

LYNDEN – A pioneer business in promoting composting within Whatcom County, Green Earth Technology is celebrating another milestone.

Stephanie Harvey, GET’s owner, started the business in fall 2002 based on an educational passion for perennial and natural gardening.

She was also involved in bidding on government-funded construction projects, which in the mid-1990s began having new speci cations for soils that included yard waste and compost.

“ e state thought that by doing that they could start to better meet their recycling goals,” Harvey said. “My dad, who I was in

business with, was working through some county government where there were conversations then about a solid waste committee.”

Harvey thought that beginning to compost grass would be an important step for the community. Her father was having and hearing similar legislative conversations, and the business seemed like a perfect way to ll that hole.

“It was divine timing,” Harvey said. “We had no real perspective to go this big in those rst real months of conversation.”

Gary Vis, executive director at the Lynden Chamber of Commerce, said GET’s addition as a local composter has been a blessing to the community. He said impact goes beyond being a thriving business, as it also bene ts Lynden’s common areas.

“We are able to divert a lot of our natural waste out of the land lls and such and reuse them in our parks and lawns and everywhere,” Vis said.

As a division of S&W Rock Products, GET was established. ey already had much of the equipment necessary to conduct a composting business, they just needed a system which they got through GORE. ey weren’t sure just how much Whatcom County residents would buy into the growth of recycling, i.e. composting, but their vision was to make sure they had room to expand the operation if it was embraced.

“We started with nding a plant that would be able to process 10,000 ton of material a year, but we built it in a way that we could keep growing it and wouldn’t get hemmed in,” Harvey said. “We have tripled the size, plus, right now we’re at 35,000 ton a year that we can process.”

Harvey said she is most proud of the way the business been able to provide sustainable employment for GET’s employees, and thus income security for their families, in the wake of the ups-and-

Flying is all she ever wanted to do

mother told her pilots needed to be good at math, which was a bit of a struggle (“I beat the odds”), Assink still wanted it badly.

What’s the best part of ying?

“Taking o and feeling the speed,” Assink said.

Women commercial pilots today constitute only 5.14 percent of the active airline workforce in the United States, according to statistics from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA) in 2020. Women in Aviation (WAI) on its website, wai.org, in January of 2022 claims women pilots represent only six percent of the total pilot population although it has more than 15,000 members worldwide.

LYNDEN — Christyna Assink, who makes her home in Lynden with her family, grew up on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan also known as the U.P. separated from the rest of Michigan by the Straits of Mackinac.

(According to Wikipedia, residents are known as “Yoopers” and some want it to be a separate state. e region is home to few people and lots of tourists and wildlife –moose, wolves, coyotes, deer, foxes, bears, bobcats, eagles, hawks, owls and other animals.)

Ever since she was a tiny girl, age 4, Assink knew she wanted the uniform and to y. Even when her

From completing her private pilot’s license at 16, with the help of her grandfather for lessons, to teaching ight, getting her degree at Western Michigan University and then taking a plane out over the Gulf of Mexico to check on oil rigs, it’s what Assink has done her whole career and continues to do.

No other girls had this goal in her small town. Yet when traveling with family, she “liked the wings and the ( ight) out t.” Assink’s rst instructor, “the best instructor,” called her “Chrissy.”

He was a special mentor, Assink said. ere came the day where he pronounced Assink ready for her solo ight. “He believed in me.”

“I had no plan B.”

Assink did brie y consider studying law, and did take the LSAT entrance test, but “the best o ce is a cockpit.”

Back up to the details: Grandpa helped Assink acquire a green fourseater Cessna 172 with N3870R on its tail which she used to commute monthly for several hours from home to study aviation science/ aviation management at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo where she kept it at a small airport while attending classes.

When ying in southeast Alaska, landings are signi cant too. Rather than aiming for a “smooth landing,” it’s best to have a bumpier landing and “set down since there is less runway.”

Before joining the ranks of the commercial pilots, Assink paid her dues working for regional airlines and got airtime by ying over the unmanned oil rigs to check for any oil leaks.

By then instrument rated, she moved to Houston in 2004 and was ying from David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport. Destinations were the Mississippi Delta and the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Katrina using GPS coordinates to nd the rigs. A concern was to be careful not to go outside the United States territory.

In 2006, Assink was hired for the regional carrier contracted for Continental, United and American. “I was ying multi-million dollar aircraft while living in low-income housing,” Assink said of the rst years. e pay was less than $25,000 a year as a rst-year pilot. Many also don’t realize ying in smaller planes is without air conditioning and was, and is, down-

‘The best office is a cockpit,’ Christyna Assink says

Where Christyna Assink went, while many stayed home

LYNDEN — Christyna Assink ies a lot. While many Americans stayed home a good portion of 2020 through 2021, she puts on a uniform, drives down to SeattleTacoma International Airport from Lynden, and takes her seat in the front of the plane as one of the pilots.

While the recent snowstorms were keeping many o of the roads, Assink was driv-

ing in the middle of the night to be to the airport to then y.

It’s not all glamour or glory. Delays can happen.

Not so long ago, there were issues at times with deicing planes, handling upset or inebriated passengers, and even a pas-

Flying: It's all Christyna Assink ever wanted to do

Continued from C14 right hot. Assink was learning to y at a location in Arizona which was bumpy with updrafts.

e plane went up and down quite a bit just like the industry itself. But … “I would never do anything else.”

Friends Katie and Marshall Norman played matchmaker to Assink and her husband Todd, who grew up in Lynden. Marshall was a captain with United Express to Assink’s First O cer role.

e introduction to Todd took and not only have they been married but they ew together work wise with United Express in the early days. (Before kids, the Assinks made sure to enjoy traveling and exploring throughout Europe and beyond into Scandinavia, Russia, Poland, and Egypt.)

Now more senior members of their respective ight crews, it is easier to put family schedules together. Once Assink gets her schedule with Alaska Air, then Todd bids on his. Based out of Bellingham, he is technically on call with Allegiant Airlines and able to be home quite a bit with days trips – up and back or to and from a destination.

In contrast, Assink has more three-day trips and has previously actually been based out of cities requiring her to commute there and then board another plane to work for seven years: Kansas City, Chicago, and Dallas.

“Commuting two time zones to work was brutal,” she said. “I knew I had to do what I could to get on a major airline.”

Children Cayden, born 2011, and Sadie, born 2014, have their parents’ sense of adventure. Cayden is

in the martial arts and Sadie loves soccer.

Interviews for piloting positions are a bit di erent than for other careers. She went to job fairs and faced two-day interviews. By the time you apply for commercial piloting positions, “they know you can y. ey know you can train and learn di erent planes.”

e age of retirement has changed and Assink has seen pilots delaying retirement.

Assink even received an unusual comment from a member of the hiring committee.

“He shook my hand and said, ‘ anks for making it seem not like being in a dentist chair’,” she said.

Advice to others considering being a pilot: Networking is crucial.

“If you fail, pick yourself up and keep going,” Assink said. “Stick to it.”

Before joining the ranks of the commercial pilots, Christyna Assink paid her dues working for regional airlines and got airtime by flying over the unmanned oil rigs to check for any oil leaks. (Courtesy photo)

-- Note: Elisa met Christyna Assink and her family in spring of 2020 while writing an article for the Tribune about their home. At

one time Elisa went through ground school for ying. Her late mother used to work for Pan American and United Airlines in a more glorious era.

Assink: Where she went while others stayed home

Continued from C15 senger’s cat got out of its carrier and was leading ight attendants on a chase. It settled into First Class, she said. It didn’t like waiting either.

On another trip, it was a dog that escaped.

Alaska Air ies all over – and so does deicing planes. Assink has found her way into parts of Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, and a bit of places in between.

Alaska also recently added Belize into the routes.

e pilots based out of Seattle-Tacoma are Alaska specialty quali ed to go into the Arctic.

No other airlines route through the canyons in that region.

Deadhorse, Alaska is 10 miles from Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean. deicing planes does the milk run through the cities and villages: Adak (ADK), Anchorage (ANC), Barrow (BRW), Bethel (BET), Cold Bay (CDB), Cordova (CDV), Dillingham

(DLG), Fairbanks (FAI), Gustavus (GST), Juneau (JNU), Ketchikan (KTN), King Salmon (AKN), Kodiak (ADQ), Kotzebue (OTZ), Nome (OME), Petersburg (PSG), Prudho Bay (SCC), Sitka (SIT), Wrangell (WRG), Yakutat (YAK). More of these routes are in the summers.

Winters, Assink aims for destinations in Hawaii, Florida, Houston, and Nashville. For the ights with layovers she has found ways to enjoy things such as hiking Mt. Roberts in Juneau or on Diamond Head in Honolulu.

While in New York City, she made her way to Central Park and also to Ellis Island to tour the remains of what immigrants saw coming into our country for so long and to research.

Whatever Assink chooses to do, she needs to make sure there is plenty of time to get back to the airport.

For a portion of Ellis Island, she had to wear a hard hat as the old hospital is not in good shape.

Assink said she learned at one time El-

Caring for All Creatures Large and Small

lis Island was one of three Oyster Islands: partly in New York and in New Jersey.

Patients with disease could be separated into di erent hospitals.

While in Florida, Assink saw alligators in a pond and explored Safety Harbor, Florida which got its name because no hurricanes have hit there. Her grade school children joined her in Nashville to visit friends and go to the zoo, the Johnny Cash Museum & Café, Ryman Auditorium, and the Grand

Ole Opry. e whole family early in 2020 went hiking in national parks.

e food is another memorable piece of being in di erent cities: jambalaya in New Orleans at the Tabasco brand company, corned beef sandwiches at Katz’s Delicatessen in New York city, and barbeque at Jack’s BBQ in Nashville. ere is even a Taco Bell Cantina in Nashville that has live music and beer.

One memory of working for Alaska Air in particular: Years ago an Alaska Air plane hit a salmon – in the air. An Alaska Airlines blog from Feb. 5, 2015 “ rowback ursday: Windshield sushi – Alaska jet really did hit a sh in midair.”

A clip of the newspaper from April 1, 1987, from the Associated Press talks of a sh delaying a ight for an hour while it was inspected for damage. Where did the sh come from? It was dropped by a bald eagle also sharing the airways.

Another great memory was seeing “a 95-year-old on his rst ight in a wheelchair. He was so excited.”

Green Earth: celebrates 20 years

Continued from C13

downs of the economic and political climate over the last 20 years.

e construction industry was a edgling one at times throughout, she added, and yet they were able to push through.

“To be up here in little Lynden, and we’re one of the biggest composters in Whatcom, Skagit, Island counties,” Harvey said. “It’s kind of an oddity that a small community has something that functions like this.”

Part of what makes Harvey enjoy being integrated into Lynden is how much the community cares. She said people are openly willing to go that extra step to ensure waste is getting to its proper destination.

“It’s amazing what they’ve done, it truly is,” Vis said. “As a community, it’s always nice to see a business that continues on and succeeds, and they’re a great example of one that made

changes, adapted early on, and has continued with their success.”

In terms of short-term goals Harvey wants to nd ways to work composting into new markets. She also hopes to further conversations about how compost works when put back into soils as opposed to chemical counterparts. Additionally, continuing to discuss the bene ts of gardening as it pertains to issues of stormwater and natural runo .

Long-term, she wants to keep growing the recycling and composting participation in the local communities. at doesn’t necessarily always mean expanding GET’s business, but also educating families on how to compost on their own.

“I don’t believe everything needs to come to a composter, people can create other compost opportunities in their communities and backyards,” Harvey said. “But we still have a lot of stu that can come out of the land ll.”

Continued from C10 so it works out well.”

e previous business at the location was Wells Fargo, with the bank safe still intact in the building after remodeling. It is currently being used as storage.

“It took a while to remodel the place, but when we came in, it was all pink, like Pepto Bismol color pink,” said Brett Kok.

But why pink? Pink was just the color the bank had chosen, according to Joel Kok.

“It was a lot of interior work,” said Brett Kok. “It took a while to get some of our components because we put custom electrical and ethernet ports all in the ground so everybody has their own connectivity within their

own workspace and that took like six months to get in.”

What is important to Brett and Joel in running an insurance business?

“Doing what’s right by the customer,” said Brett Kok.

“And we also tried to educate our clientele to understand what insurance does and what it doesn’t,” said Joel Kok.

Being curious is a personality trait that helps with being in the insurance business, according to Brett Kok.

“If you like puzzles and how to put things together, you typically like insurance,” said Brett Kok. “It doesn’t hurt if you’re studious as well, because there’s a lot of di erent reading and interpretation of policies and policy forums and how they all work together.”

Woods Coffee gets a makeover

LYNDEN — Woods Co ee on Front Street in Lynden has had a makeover. And while guests might not notice dramatic changes indoors, they can expect shorter wait times for their drinks.  Due to increased busyness of the store the past few years, the remodel was a necessity to increase ow behind the counter and decrease wait time for customers, according to Ryan Spiker, Woods Co ee director of brand and culture.

“It’s more of an update to kind of keep things moving, keep things in line with what we’ve learned along the way and ways to better manage the chaos of a busy time,” said Spiker.   e remodel was also to give the store a fresh

Now remodeled, the Woods Co ee on Front Street in Lynden sports a new coffee bar and shorter wait times. (Courtesy)

look since it was built around 15 years ago, according to Spiker.  So what has been remodeled in the co ee shop?

“We recon gured our entire behind-the-counter space,” said Spiker. “So we basically tore all that out and started from scratch with a new layout. So if you’re a customer and you walk in, you probably wouldn’t notice there’s a di erence, but if you’re a sta member, you really notice a di erence because things are just organized di erently for high e ciencies.”

Customers might notice the fresh fascia on the counter with cedar wood planks and marble countertops and some fresh coats of paints, but

Woods

on Front Street in Lynden has had a makeover. And while guests might not notice dramatic changes indoors, they can expect shorter wait times for their drinks. (Courtesy)

Woods: Makeover for Fairway Center coffee shop

other than that, it doesn’t look a whole lot di erent, according to Spiker.

e remodel took about three months and Woods Co ee remodels one to two stores a year that need an update.

“We have a list of stores that need updates,” said Spiker. “ e next one for us is our Bakerview location in Bellingham, so [Front Street] was probably on that list for a couple years before we

actually got to it.”  e employees at the Front Street Woods Co ee were excited about the remodel and update due to the fact it makes their job easier, Spiker said.

“Yeah, they’re extremely ecstatic,” said Spiker. “It’s just a way better ow for them. It makes their job 100 times easier and it’s just so much faster for our guests too if they’re in the drive thru. Maybe a minute or two faster, but that is a big deal for us.”