A new Trader Joe's

I haven't been to the new Trader Joe's in Bellingham yet. Hear that it's been crowded due to being the "new kid on the block."

Not liking "rat race." I'll wait a while. Sometime in the future, I can explore the new store at a more leisurely pace.

Several people have wondered if Trader Joe's will take business away from the Bellingham Food Co-op?"

Well, the Co-op is expanding also. Plans call for a new branch of the Co-op to be built in Bellingham's north side.

Last Community Co-op dinner I went to was full of news about the new store. They were bullish on it's prognosis after a successful year at the Co-op's downtown location.

Two branches of the Co-op? We have two Fred Myers and a bunch of other things.

It seems like the retailing is always even a step ahead of population growth in this city.

When I first moved to Bellingham, I was amazed how many stores and restaurants there were. Of course, I came from Pullman, WA.; a town who's retailing lagged way behind the population. People went over to Moscow, Idaho to do their shopping.

In Bellingham, service sector seems to lead the city's growth. That's because everyone's got a dream, or at least almost everyone. A dream to open up their own shop, restaurant, practice.

I have said that, "every other person in Bellingham is a massage therapist."

That's an exaggeration, but it sure seems like that. Maybe every other person is either a massage therapist, psychologist or artist.

Can the market support everyone?

Maybe folks can forget about money and just get into a giant bartering "group massage."

A group massage. That's a better version of "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine." Politicians are often accused joining the latter circle.

It seems like more Canadian dollars are rolling into Bellingham and Whatcom County these days. The Canadian dollar is stronger again.

I remember 1976 when someone said close to 60% of local retail dollars were from Canada bargain hunters.

Armies of bargain hunters with blue and white license plates.

Maybe that can't happen again as Canadian retailers are offering more bargains north of the border. They're getting smarter up there when it comes to marketing, if one calls that smart.

Just about everyone does have a dream and so many dreams are entrepreneurial in nature.