We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Molly Flynn. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Molly below.

Molly, appreciate you joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

Before opening Bloomhaven Bottle Shop, my career of nearly 20 years was as a professional in the specialty coffee industry. It was a meaningful endeavor with plenty of twists and turns – and yet one of the most influential experiences was when I got fired from a job I loved. At the time, I was an inexperienced young employee with a bad attitude and a propensity for being late to work. Getting fired was certainly humbling, but the real education came from the unwanted retail job I took to make ends meet while trying to start up my coffee career again.

When I say “education,” I don’t just mean how to set up a table display or hot tips for using a box cutter without slicing my finger off; I mean I learned the art of hospitality – how to take care of a customer in a way that was beneficial and even meaningful for all involved. The key was to listen – really listen – when guests communicate. A customer might not know exactly what they’re looking for, but even in their uncertainty they will still say helpful words or use certain body language that will guide the listener in the effort of meeting the guest’s needs. And really, we all just want to have our needs met.

Nowadays at Bloomhaven, sometimes the need is for a tasty non-alcoholic beverage option while pregnant or on a sobriety kick. Sometimes the need is to feel pampered and valued as a VIP in my space (a feeling I try to give all of my customers). Sometimes the need is for a little bit of basic human connection with a friendly person. Whatever the case may be, it’s my joyful responsibility to uncover the the needs of anyone who comes through my door and do my best to meet those needs.

Anyone who has ever worked in the hospitality industry will know the irony of learning these skills at a “big box” store instead of at a small independent business that believes in what they’re selling. Valuable life lessons can be delivered when you least expect it and have a larger impact than anticipated. I am now not only a better worker (and business owner) due to the experience I had at this retail chain; I’m also a better partner, family member, and friend as I put this education to work in my daily life as well.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Molly Flynn, a small business owner who created Bellingham Washington’s first and only non-alcoholic boutique liquor store, called Bloomhaven Bottle Shop. I specialize in stocking a carefully curated selection of non-alcoholic spirits, wine, canned cocktails, and beer.

I didn’t invent the idea of an n/a bottle shop, but I am honored to be one of only a handful around the country and even the world. The closest n/a boutique to Bellingham is in Seattle, which is a bit of a drive for most of my guests. I am frequently told stories by my customers of experiences they’ve had purchasing non-alcoholic drinks online, only to be disappointed by the quality, resulting in dumping the beverage down the drain. At Bloomhaven, my guests can “try before they buy”, via sampling the products I have and exploring the possibilities together with me.

As someone who has been passionate about meeting customer needs throughout my career in the specialty coffee industry, and somewhat of an avid drinker in a past life, I am thrilled to offer my expertise about all things non-alcoholic to my guests. When I went sober in March of 2016, I was super disappointed to discover that there weren’t any good n/a spirit or cocktail options for me. I love a well crafted old fashioned or negroni, and I still wanted to participate in that ritualistic culinary experience even if I wasn’t consuming alcohol. When non-alcoholic products sprang onto the market in full force around 2020, I jumped on that so fast! I created an instagram devoted to n/a beverages and brands sent me their products to review, which turned out to be quite the education on what n/a options are out there and how to best use them. It’s a thrill to put that education to good use now daily at Bloomhaven.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I am in the process of unlearning is the false narrative that I would never be a good boss. And who knows, maybe it’s not all that much of a lie! I’ve never had an employee before and I could be the worst employer on the planet for all I know. But what I do know for sure is that I can’t run Bloomhaven all by myself for the rest of my life. I need help, so it is imperative that I not only gather a stellar staff, but that I also humble myself and learn the hard lessons of how to be an ethical employer.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I’ve known my co-founder/business partner, Brandon Paul Weaver, for about 15 years. We met when we were both working in the specialty coffee industry in Seattle. Life led us both in different directions, with Brandon becoming a bartender and buying and taking over Liberty Bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, and with me leaving the coffee industry, going sober, and (after several cross-state moves) landing back in Seattle to become a regular at Liberty, which has excellent non-alcoholic cocktails on the menu. Brandon has always been a supporter of the non-alcoholic movement and we’ve wanted to open a business together for years. It finally came true in the summer of 2024 when we had the opportunity to take over a space in Bellingham and turn it into a non-alcoholic bottle shop. Brandon is an excellent business partner and mentor. He celebrates my wins and coaches me with compassion through my losses, all while challenging me to grow more independent. The goal is for me to ultimately buy Brandon out of the business and for Bloomhaven to be all mine someday, and I couldn’t imagine anyone better to be on that professional journey with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bloomhavenna.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomhaven.na
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollymflynn/

Image Credits

Caylie Mash Photography