BOTHELL, Wash. — Sunday marked the last day for Bothell’s Country Village shopping area that many eclectic businesses called home for almost 40 years.
The property was sold to a developer who plans to build townhomes on the land. Business owners were given notice of the sale in 2017.
The last day at work was emotional for some business owners. Long-time customers and friends came out Sunday to pick up one final item or just to say goodbye.
Chong Fowler, owner of Country Blend, said that she’s ready to retire after more than 30 years in business. The last day brought “a little bit of emotion, but I’ll just miss a lot of the people,” she said.
“It’s also exciting. It’s time for us to have a bit of change in this part of our life. We’ve got other things to look forward to that we’ve never been able to do, because we’re a family-owned business,” Bobby Fowler said. “Most of this has been done by her.”
Another business owner, Victor Obrastoff of The Write Stuff, said a lot of friends had come by for the last day aboard the S.S. Pen Pal. He’s a retired educator turned custom pen maker and joined County Village only recently, compared to other businesses.
“When the opportunity came for me to rent this boat at Country Village I jumped at it, and it's been the happiest year-and-a-half of my life. I just love being down here. Sad that it's closing, but I guess that’s progress,” Obrastoff said.