Fountain District defines stability

Grass is not greener elsewhere

by Christopher Key

Fountains tend to conjure romantic images of Roman holidays and lovers tossing coins into sparkling waters. The feature Bellingham’s Fountain District was named for had a decidedly more pragmatic origin. It actually fed a horse trough.

Located at the south end of Guide Meridian, the Fountain District once served as the transition area from rural Whatcom County to the metropolis of Bellingham. Farmers and loggers coming into town down the Guide would tie up their horses at a conveniently located hitching post and ride the trolley the rest of the way into town. Such a stopping off point was a natural place for businesses to congregate. The hitching post and the trolley are long gone, but the Fountain District remains a good place to do business.

Fountain Drug and Galleria dates back at least as far as the 1930s, according to owners Allyn and Mary Deets. They’re not sure of the exact date because they’ve only owned the business for the last 28 years. Allyn, a Ph.D. psychologist, found himself doing research in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and Mary yearned for their native Bellingham and bought Fountain Drug in 1975.

“The original store was down the block,” Mary said. “This building was constructed sometime in the 1950s. Fountain Drug was the predecessor to the chains in the sense that it carried mixed merchandise. We didn’t want to copy what the chains were doing, so we experimented with the merchandise mix.”

Those experiments resulted in a local treasure that features an eclectic mix of artwork and what is arguably the area’s best toy department, along with pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. The selection of greeting cards is immense. If you enjoy sitting in the comfortable furniture on the main floor, you can buy that, as well.

“Allyn has a background in child development,” Mary said. “That has been central to how we developed our big toy department. It’s a relatively recession proof part of the business. Our merchandise mix continues to evolve. We used to be the only place in Bellingham that carried adult costumes for Halloween. As the chains catch on, we have to change.”

The pharmacy generates a lot of cash flow, according to Allyn, but the profit margins are slim.

“You have to do a huge volume in order to make any money,” he said. “The independent pharmacy is an endangered species, but niches exist for creative retailers. In order to survive in the drug industry, you have to tie in to some sort of national distribution network.”

A franchise service called Value Rite gives them volume buying power.

“We do a lot of our own warehousing, which helps us compete with the big chains,” Allyn said. “We also have pricing flexibility that the chains don’t because it isn’t controlled from some remote location. It takes a while for the big companies to react to price fluctuations. We can be more responsive.”

Growth is resulting in changes among Bellingham’s neighborhoods.

“Cascade Pizza and other businesses are helping generate a lot more walk-in traffic,” Mary said. “People seem to be walking more.”

Fountain Drug and Galleria employs 16 to 20 people, depending on the season.

“It’s not easy to hire good people, but we are very selective,” Mary said. “You have to hire the right person for the place. We’ve hired a lot of Western Washington students over the years and that has been very successful for us.”

They have a firm philosophy about keeping good employees.

“We try to make them a part of the business and involve them in decision making,” Mary said. “They get so invested in the store that they never want to leave. It’s the old Golden Rule. We treat them like they’re important and they are.”

Allyn and Mary try to lead by example.

“We bend over backward for our customers,” Mary said. “People don’t have to shop here. We have to make them glad that they came to our store. Our employees are very involved with our product lines and have extensive knowledge. We go to the New York Toy Fair and pick out the very best products. It’s like being a personal shopper for our customers.”

What makes the Fountain District so stable?

“It’s a good location,” Allyn said. “Girard Street and Meridian used to be the major arteries out of town. We used to get a lot of Lynden customers because we are open on Sundays. Parking is easy and we don’t mind other businesses using our parking lot. I don’t know. Maybe it’s something in the water.”

Oltman Insurance was founded in 1932 and was originally located on Holly Street. The first office was a cubbyhole in the Brown’s Beauty Supply Store. When that facility moved out to Meridian, Oltman Insurance came along for the ride. Alvin Stauffer came on board as a partner in 1973 and took over the business in the 1980s. His daughter, Ann Medina, now helps him run the business.

“We have to market our customer service, since we have no control over prices,” Medina said. “Insurance companies are basically naming their own prices right now because they’re not having to fight for business. We have a reputation for fast turnaround on issuing binders. Offer good service and the rest will fall into place”

Lots of insurers are leaving certain markets.

“Construction in particular has been hard hit,” Medina said. “Some of our clients have seen their rates go from about $1,000 a year to $20,000 a year and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. Auto and homeowners rates are also going up. We spend a lot of time shopping the insurance market, but everybody’s in the same boat.”

Stauffer agrees with that assessment.

“Competition is always stiff in this business, but all of the local companies are on a level playing field,” he said. “We all respect each other here in Bellingham.”

Medina offers some advice to insurance customers.

“Right now, you don’t have much choice but to pay the higher premiums,” she said. “One thing you can do is maintain a healthy credit rating, because insurers are basing their decisions on credit scoring. Don’t report small losses to the insurance company; save it for the big stuff. Pay for small losses out of pocket, if possible, and you’ll save on insurance rates.”

Oltman Insurance has 11 employees.

“The local employment market seems to go in waves,” Medina said. “The last three times we’ve hired, the first time was good, the second time was pretty slim, and this last time we had 35 applicants. It’s hard to find trained people, but we can handle that. Sometimes it’s better to be able to train people in your own way.”

Given the time it takes to develop good employees, it’s important to keep them.

“First, you need to provide good working conditions,” Medina said. “Then, we look for someone who fits in with the personality of our office. Some of our people have been here 20 years, so we work well as a team.”

Stauffer and Medina agree that the district is unusually stable.

“It’s a good location,” Stauffer said. “We couldn’t improve things by moving. It’s really the best of both worlds. When you’re coming to town or leaving town, you have to pass right through this district.”

Medina believes parking is a vital issue.

“Fountain Drug has lots of parking and that helps everybody,” she said. “The city has been threatening to take on-street parking off Meridian for 30 years. That issue seems to be on a back burner.”

Part of the secret may lie with the business community’s integration with the larger neighborhood.

“There’s a merchant’s association, but it doesn’t get very active unless we are threatened by something,” Medina said. “A good example of how we operate is the new project that Nick (owner of Cascade Pizza) is planning. He went around and asked everyone how they felt about his new development.”

Apparently, everyone felt pretty good about it because Nick Tsoulouhas is moving ahead with plans to raze three rather decrepit buildings to the south of Cascade Pizza and build a new 7,000 square foot retail/office complex. He’s a relative newcomer to the Fountain District, having been there only 25 years. Tsoulouhas came from his native Greece in 1969 and worked at Intalco for four years. He finds Bellingham to be a very welcoming place for foreigners.

“A friend sold me and my brother a business in Sedro-Wooley,” he said. “That was the beginning of Cascade Pizza in 1974. In 1978, we opened the restaurant in Bellingham and added the Mt. Vernon location in 1982.”

The brothers also started the Rib and Reef Restaurant on Samish Way in 1989 and sold it a year later.

“In 1992, we opened Cascade Pizza on Lakeway and later sold it to my daughter and her husband,” Tsoulouhas said. “They ran it for four years before selling to the Mexican restaurant. Now, I own the restaurant on Meridian and my brother owns the restaurant in Mt. Vernon.”

The restaurant business involves a lot of time and hard work.

“I owe a lot to my family,” Tsoulouhas said. “My wife and kids have had to put up with a lot of long hours over the years.”

He also gives a lot of credit to his 28 employees.

“It’s easy to hire good people here,” Tsoulouhas said. “We don’t have much turnover because I try to be fair and straightforward with them. They understand what I’m trying to do. I follow the state laws and they follow my laws. That’s the way we do things. I trust them and try to help them when they need it. I’m on the same level they are. I have to make a living here just like they do.”

Over the years, there have been small changes in the menu. Tsoulouhas puts a great deal of emphasis on consistency.

“People can rely on our quality,” he said. “I never compromise on that. We make everything here and don’t cut corners. The food is fresh every day. I won’t buy specials just so I can sell cheap. Salespeople know better than to try to substitute things with me. That’s why people seek us out.”

Tsoulouhas doesn’t strive for anything fancy, just consistently good food. He is happy to be a part of the Fountain District.

“These are mostly private family businesses, not franchises,” he said. “It’s very stable. People have been here a long time and take pride in their businesses. We keep the area clean and keep it going. Griffith Furniture has been a good neighbor. Fountain Veterinary Clinic has been there forever. Fountain Drug, Oltman Insurance, Northwest Collision have all been around for a long time and people know them. I’m proud to do business here and be a part of the community.”

That includes purchasing advertising on school calendars and donating gift certificates to the schools and organizations that help the handicapped. His new building project is a symbol of his faith in the Fountain District.

Tsoulouhas’ good neighbor, Griffith Furniture, is the oldest family owned business in the district. Steve Griffith’s grandfather founded the company in 1939 as the Bellingham Auction House. During the week, Grandfather Griffith scouted the county for saleable merchandise and on Saturdays there was a big auction.

“The business evolved into a furniture store in the mid 1950s,” Griffith said. “A Piggly-Wiggly store originally occupied the first building. Now, we’ve expanded to take in seven buildings.”

He believes there’s nowhere to go but up for the Fountain District.

“This is an unusually stable business environment,” Griffith said. “Businesses here were planned more carefully than most. It’s really a neighborhood rather than a business district. We work together all the time. There’s always been good traffic here, but now it’s people going to Bellis Fair rather than Lynden.”

Griffith calls it a Mom and Pop style business with ten employees.

“It’s not always easy to hire good people, but we’ve gotten a lot of good recruits from the college,” Griffith said. “We’ve helped put a lot of kids through school. I try to make them feel comfortable, like they’re part of the family.”

Griffith has a different approach to buying furniture.

“A lot of our furniture is made in China,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to buy at lower prices, but you have to do it in quantity. That’s why we’re adding more warehouse space. We belong to a buying association called Pacific Furniture Dealers and that helps us compete with the chains.”

Keeping up with furniture fashions is a challenge.

“The industry is very fashion oriented and changes about twice a year,” Griffith said. “Bellingham tends to be at the end of the line when it comes to furniture trends. That makes it hard to guess. If I bring in new styles, they may not catch on here for another year.”

Furniture has always been a competitive business, but Griffith believes that this area is maxed out.

“A lot of the chains haven’t made it because they can’t steal enough market share from the locals to meet their higher costs,” he said. “Any new furniture business is going have to meet that challenge. There is something to be said for being conservative and expanding slowly.”

There is probably something to be said as well for having gone to school with the nearest competitor just down the street.

One of the newest denizens of the Fountain District is Clayworks, owned by veteran potter Joyce Russell. She came to Bellingham 27 years ago to get her master’s degree at Western.

“I couldn’t find a job, but I wanted to live here,” Russell said. “I ran the Good Earth Co-op for a while and taught myself pottery. I just figure out what I want to make and how.”

Russell and her ex-husband eventually opened Russell’s Downtown Clayworks on Railroad Avenue, but he wanted to return to teaching.

“I worked out of a home studio for a while,” Russell said, “but I needed some kind of retail space where I could market my work. Three and a half years ago, I opened Clayworks in Fairhaven. I did really well, but the rent was very high.”

A year and a half ago, she sold her house and bought what she describes as the perfect space.

“This was the old Girard Street Market,” Russell said. “I bought it on an owner contract and it had been rather neglected, but there was a space in back for an apartment. I learned a lot of skills fixing the place up and now people love to hang out here. I’m paying my bills and proving you can make a living at pottery.”

One of her specialties is tile work and she has installations all over the Northwest.

“Moving out of Fairhaven was a challenge,” Russell said. “I had to pave the parking lot across the street in order to get an occupancy permit. That took five months and I had no income during that time.”

She has big plans that include bringing in some help.

“People are begging for classes, but opening this store has been a big investment,” Russell said. “I’m not sure I want to do classes right now, but I may hire some people to teach.”

Pottery was hot when she first started working in the medium, then slumped for a while. It picked up again about 10 years ago.

“I’ve never made conventional stuff; never catered to the market,” Russell said. “This will never be boring for me. I’ll never live long enough to do all the ideas I have.”

A shaky economy is no impediment.

“Some of the best jobs happen when the economy is down,” Russell said. “People start remodeling their homes rather than buying new ones and that means tile jobs for me.”

She loves the Fountain District.

“This is a great area,” Russell said. “The people here are fabulous and make the best neighbors.”

It doesn’t hurt that she makes fountains along with handmade sinks and custom tiles. She has developed a garden area next to the store and plans to offer garden sculpture and birdbaths.

“Make sure you tell people that I’m on Girard Street,” Russell said. “Somebody else did a story on me and said I was on Dupont Street. People are still looking for me down there.”

Yes, Virginia, there is still a fountain in the Fountain District. It’s worth spending some time to locate it. Along the way, you might discover some of the most interesting businesses in Bellingham along with a lot of history.