Baywood Coffee: Building community one cup at a time

The trendy coffee shop of Baywood Coffee is a young business in Birch Bay that is not even a year old.

The owner, Antonie Inthavong, grew up in Birch Bay and is part of a long line of family restaurateurs in Whatcom County. Inthavong grew up working at Birch Bay Teriyaki & Chinese Cafe, Nami Asian Bistro and SKAI Sushi for most of his life. In his 29 years, no job has been as rewarding as Baywood Coffee, he says.

“It’s so much fun,” Inthavong said. “I never thought in a million years I’d end up having to learn how to be a barista.”

Baywood Coffee, 8036 Birch Bay Drive, is in a building that his family has owned since 1997 that was once Birch Bay Teriyaki & Chinese Cafe. The building sat empty after old tenants had left when the restaurant closed and the family decided Inthavong should open his own coffee shop.

“It was my grandparents, my parents and my grandpa’s brother who had the idea of Baywood Coffee,” Inthavong said. “They wanted to change it into something that was more fitting for the bay.”

Birch Bay Drive separates the shop from the water, and natural light shines through the windows on sunny days. Not all days are sunny though, and winter is especially hard for businesses in such a small, tourism-focused town.

“If you can’t make it through the winter, then you’re probably going to go under,” Inthavong said. “Luckily we had a lot of support from locals.”

Since the business has only been open since last May, this winter was the trial run and Inthavong said he’s glad they lasted through the hardest months. Approaching sunnier days and increased tourism will help Baywood Coffee grow to achieve its goal of being a welcoming space, Inthavong said.

“We want everyone to feel like family here,” Inthavong said. “We want to be able to give back and provide a space that’s inviting for everyone.”

Inthavong said he strives to be open-minded and listen to community feedback. He has plans of offering more food to expand Baywood Coffee’s menu that already includes a brown butter Biscoff latte, Korean shaved ice, pastries, ice cream and more.

“I’m just so thankful that the community is patient,” Inthavong said. “It’s not just doing it to have locals to come in all the time but to really build genuine relationships with them.”

Restaurant Recommendation: Inthavong recommends the turkey pesto croffle, a croissant sandwich that is waffle pressed, and the salted honey latte.