Make Locus Your “Third Place” Between Work and Home
Shuffling between home and the office (or for many of us, working from home) makes it harder to find and engage with our community. A “third place” can help — a space to gather or just be around others free from distractions like dirty dishes or oppressive overhead lighting.
Pictured: Kaycee Rezvani (Owner) and Jordan (Manager)
Locus, a hybrid coffee shop, bar, and events venue is that third place for the downtown Bellingham community. Need to get work done or read a book? Come to Locus before 10 am or between 4 and 6 pm when the vibe is more mellow. Want a more lively atmosphere or to make new friends? Swing by mid-afternoon, during happy hour, or on weekends when local bands perform in the back.
Locus often partners with other local businesses to host events, like queer speed-dating in collaboration with Wink Wink, and happy hour pre-Downtown Sounds, Bellingham’s free week-long music series.
Regardless of when you arrive and how long you choose to stay, Locus provides a snug and cheerful space from morning to night. You can sip inventive lattes, traditional Japanese matcha, or fresh-roasted drip coffee, and later transition to brews, local wines, or their brand-new flavorful cocktails. Don’t skip the fusion drinks, like IPAs with a shot of cold brew; White Claw with fresh grapefruit, rosemary, and Prosecco; and liqueur-infused mimosas. They also serve breakfast all day, sandwiches at lunchtime, plus salads, pastries, and sharable plates.
Locus also sources local ingredients: they use locally-roasted coffee beans from Lotus, infuse drinks with berries and lavender from local farms, and serve bread and pastries from Avenue Bread and Avellino.
Diverting from the minimalist coffee shop trend of white-walled interiors and neutral colors throughout, Locus emphasizes the bold: floor-to-ceiling floral murals in blue with pops of orange, pendant lamps with Edison bulbs, and cozy booths and armchairs.
The community-centered events, welcoming space, and unique flavor combos are all by design. Owner Kaycee Rezvani is the first woman entrepreneur in her family, and without a roadmap for running a business, she’s been able to embrace creativity and do things her own way.
Growing up, Kaycee lived with her grandmother, who not only taught her techniques for pairing ingredients but also that experimentation leads to new ideas, as is evident in Locus’s menu items and curated experiences.
Kaycee a hands-on leader, splitting her time between the downtown location and the newly-opened Locus in Bellingham’s Barkley Village. In both locations, she’s fostered a tight-knit community, including the staff, local vendors and partners, and of course, the patrons.
Whether you’re working at Barkley Village or strolling through downtown between Holly and Magnolia streets, stop in at Locus to try something new, and feel free to stay awhile.
