Lettered Streets Coffeehouse

The building dates to 1890 and the coffeehouse has held the corner of F and Dupont since 2007, which makes it one of the longer tenancies in Bellingham coffee. The city formally named the building the Breitenstein Building in 2023, but the date stone reads Pickett, and Pickett is what regulars still call it. Both names are correct depending on who you ask.

Inside it reads as one room and is really several, broken up into corners with big windows and local art on the walls. That layout is why it works for sitting rather than passing through: there is somewhere to tuck into with a book for an hour without feeling like you are in the middle of the room.

Everything in the pastry case is baked on site and the list rotates with the season, with gluten free and vegan options always in the mix rather than as an occasional gesture. For a coffeehouse rather than a bakery, that is a real kitchen commitment.

Order a cortado and pair it with a scone. Lettered Streets closes at 3pm every day, which is squarely in the middle of the Bellingham pattern, and it sits in a residential pocket where parking is easier than anything you will find on Holly Street.