Boundary Bay Brewery Q&A

After 30 years in the beer industry, owners Ed Bennett and Janet Lightner announced that 2025 will be the final year for Boundary Bay Brewery’s location on Railroad Avenue in downtown Bellingham.

It’s the end of an era for Bellingham’s longest continually operating brewery, which began in 1995 and has grown to see Bellingham become a beer Mecca known across the world.

Janet and Ed announced their retirement in a November 2024 blog post, saying now is the right time as the building’s owner is deciding to sell.

“Like all good journeys, they must end so a new adventure can begin,” Ed and Janet wrote.

Mount Baker Experience caught up with the soon-to-be retired Bennett to discuss the legacy Boundary Bay will leave behind, the industry changes they’ve seen firsthand over three decades brewing beer, and what’s next.

The following excerpt has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Mount Baker Experience: What inspired you to start the brewery, and looking back now after three decades, did you ever imagine it would grow into what it is today?

Ed Bennett: I was attending UC Davis to get my Master’s degree in wine chemistry (Enology), beginning in the Fall 1986. UC Davis is well respected in their curriculum on premium wine making and grape growing. UC Davis at that time was also the only public university in the country with a malting and brewing program.

The craft beer industry was just getting going and I was at a central location of the movement. Anchor Brewing in San Francisco and Sierra Nevada in Chico were becoming major breweries. While I eventually received my Master’s degree from UC Davis in 1990, I continued to keep an eye on the craft beer industry. 

I worked in the wine industry in Northern California, but craft beer seemed like an opportunity to relocate to the Pacific Northwest where I was from. We began construction in July 1994 and opened the brewery and restaurant in September 1995.

There were only 276 craft breweries in the country in 1995, and just a handful of them in Washington State. 

Looking back after three decades, I would not have imagined how we grew.  We now have over 100 employees and for several years, we were considered to be the largest brewpub in the United States. We have wholesale distribution primarily in Washington State. We sell both draft and packaged products like cans and bottles, retail and wholesale.  We have won numerous awards for our beer and have been considered one of the pioneer breweries that has had an impact on the craft beer industry over 30 years.

MBE: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in the early years, and how did you overcome them together as both business partners and a couple?

EB: The craft beer industry was much different in 1995. Today, everything needed to set up and run a brewery can easily be obtained. Back in 1995, I had to work with an engineer to design and build custom-made brewery equipment.

In addition to setting up and running a brewery, I had never run a restaurant before. I had to rely on the people that we hired with restaurant experience. 

That is where Janet comes in. She helped before we opened and joined the staff soon after we opened. She had an immense background in the restaurant industry. She was a perfect fit to take the brewery restaurant to another level and is still a major contributor to the restaurant and brewery operations.

MBE: Craft beer has evolved dramatically over the past 30 years, how did you adapt to industry changes while staying true to your original vision?

EB: Yes, craft beer has evolved dramatically over the past 30 years, and we are continually adapting to the current trends. Hard to imagine that IPAs were fairly uncommon and we were one of the first craft breweries to brew a Classic IPA. We still brew our “Original” IPA, and it is available year-round. Other beer styles were still being developed over time like Hazy IPAs.

MBE: What are some of your proudest moments from your time running the brewery, whether it’s a particular beer, event, or community impact?

EB: While developing world class beers, working with the Bellingham/Whatcom County community is central to our business plan and one of my proudest .  I always thought that I was at a point in my life that I wanted to give back to the community that I had a part of.

One of the proudest moments is when somebody comes up to me and thanks me for everything Boundary Bay Brewery does for the community. There’s lots of examples. Fundraising, producing specific event and organization’s beers: Ski to Sea ESB, Race Day IPA, Bellingham Bell’s Fielder’s Choice IPA, Traverse IPA, Roller Betty’s Insubordination IPA, the list goes on.

It helps when making a product that can be used in so many ways to help raise funds for an organization. It’s a long list of organizations. One of the best examples is Max Higbee Center, when we came up with the beer festival idea and taught them how to run a beer festival. They often say that if it wasn’t for Boundary Bay Brewery, they probably would not be operating today.

We also have a St. Patrick’s Day Parade! This was Janet’s idea. It has grown over 15 years, and has become a classic community event.

MBE: Boundary Bay is known as a celebratory destination for so many outdoor and community events in Bellingham, why was it so important for you to have not only a space for making craft beer, but also an inviting event and concert space?

EB: I had traveled in Europe a lot before I opened the brewery and saw many great beer gardens. That gave me the desire to have a space in Bellingham that can be used for so many things. Beginning and end of races, community fundraisers, city events, weddings, memorial gatherings, and a place to come to enjoy great music! We also want to share the beer garden with families of all ages.

MBE: Running a business as a couple can be intense. How did you maintain a healthy work-life balance over the years? 

EB: We try, but to be honest it is difficult to maintain a “healthy” work-life balance.  We have committed so much of our lives to the brewery and restaurant, we feel it is time to back away from the day-to-day operations. 

Janet and I, along with Janet’s children, Casey, Madison, Bailey and the staff who have been with us both short term and long term – some over 20 years – are committed to making sure we are providing a very positive experience for everybody!!!

MBE: As you step into retirement, what’s next for you, and what legacy do you hope the brewery continues to carry forward?

EB: Janet and I have some trips planned, including camping a lot in the US and touring around Europe. Lots of things to do! We’re not sure at this time what the future of the brewery is.   X