Low Canadian dollar forces closure of the only grocery store in Sumas

A longtime retail landmark is going out of business this week, marking another closure among food markets in eastern Whatcom County.

Cross-border traffic remains strong. Nearly 3.6 million people have crossed southbound through the five Whatcom County border crossings in the first four months of 2017 — nearly identical to the first four months of 2016, according to the data gathered by Western Washington University’s Border Policy Research Institute. With the Canadian dollar remaining low, it’s expected that border crossing numbers will stay at this level, said Hart Hodges, director at Western’s Center for Economics and Business Research.