It looks like Bonney Lake’s business community is maturing out of early adulthood.

The Bonney Lake Chamber of Commerce hits its 30th anniversary this winter, and will celebrate with an invitation-only cocktail party at Kelley Farm Dec. 6.

When the chamber opened shop in 1982, Bonney Lake was home to approximately 25 businesses, said Historical Society President Dennis Dhaese. Some of those, such as the Stock Market grocery store, are long gone.

But a period of exponential growth that began shortly after the new millennium saw the population rise, and the number of businesses explode into the triple digits. Today, the chamber’s membership sits around 120 businesses (the exact number of members listed on the chamber’s website is 125, but a small minority of members have repeat listings).

“Most of our members are small businesses with one or two people on staff,” Executive Director Lora Butterfield said. “A few large businesses are in the minority of our membership. Those are companies like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc. But small business owners are still the bulk of our business community.”

Butterfield said the chamber offers clear benefits to new and incoming businesses, such as regular networking opportunities, ribbon cuttings, and discounts through Office Depot’s national chambers of commerce program.

“We want to see businesses grow and thrive within the community, becoming one of those stories 30 years from now about how they have lasted the test of time,” Chamber President Thad Huff said in a Nov. 4 blog post.