116 Grand Ave · Downtown Bellingham
“We sell used books!”
Behind the bright blue storefront at 116 Grand Avenue sit 300,000 used books in 6,500 square feet. The shop has been in downtown Bellingham since 1986.
Chapter II · The Stacks
The shelves rise ten feet, with ladders for the top rows, and the rooms run back a full city block behind the narrow storefront. The stock runs to rare and out-of-print titles alongside the everyday used books.
Chapter III · The Back Room
Follow the aisle all the way back: the last room in the shop is given to mysteries and science fiction. On the way you pass rare and out-of-print titles, old cookbooks, and hand-lettered signs pointing into the next section.
Chapter IV · Since 1986
Robert Henderson came to Bellingham in 1986 with the best fifty boxes from a closing Seattle shop, and opened a small used bookstore downtown.
In 1994 he and his wife Barbara moved the shop into 116 Grand Avenue and built the shelves themselves. The boards still show planer marks.
“Let’s just quit.”
“No quitting.”
The Hendersons’ running joke, told to Regal House Publishing for its June 2026 profile of the shop.
Chapter V · Visit
| Wednesday – Saturday | 10 AM – 6 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM – 5 PM |
| Monday & Tuesday | Closed |