SEATTLE — A staple in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood has been sitting on the same corner for 125 years: Conor Byrne, an Irish pub and music venue.
The historic Ballard Avenue pub is credited with helping bands like The Head and the Heart get their start. But as of March 31, their doors are shut and the music is quiet.
"It was heartbreaking. It felt like the end of an era," Erika Lundahl, a musician who played her first show in Seattle at the pub. "We have to protect the smaller venues in order to have artists that grow to be at the big venues.”
So, is there hope for its future? Musicians, staff and patrons think so. The avid supporters of the popular music venue are refusing to take 'no' for an answer; they are now working to turn Conor Byrne into the first co-op bar in Ballard.
Dan Sodomka, who was a bartender at Conor Byrne, said the pub has, "This 'Cheers' bar energy, where it feels like everybody knows your name.”
Those who love the bar and appreciate its history have been getting together, hosting “a lot of community meetings," said Lundahl. She added, "It’s a place we go to grieve; it’s a place we go to celebrate."
The current owner, Diarmuid Cullen, offered to sell the bar to his bar managers and staff, but Sodomka said they felt it would be better to preserve the bar as a community.
Sodomka said, "The more we explored [the co-op model], the more it kind of made sense.”
He and a friend sought advice from a bartender and member of Flying Bike Brewery in Greenwood, one of a few other co-op bars in Washington. KING 5 visited the brewery to learn how it's going.
"It’ll be nine years this coming August," said Mike Pearson, the board's vice president. "It’s been nice.”
He said they have become a community meeting space of sorts.
"We have, uh, 2,375 members now. We just got our last member the other day," he added. "I say go for it. The co-op model is very good for the community.”
Similar to Flying Bike, organizers of the Conor Byrne co-op hope to run a membership program. Lundahl said they are thinking about rewarding members with drink discounts and other perks and hope this will foster customer loyalty.
"Once we raise those start-up funds, we’ll be opening up a membership portal later in April and people will be able to become members at $300," said Lundahl.
Because for a city that's known for its music, it's not just music that matters; local music matters, too.
"I think some of the best songs that you’ve never heard are written by your neighbor," said Sodomka. "Some things are worth preserving, and music and community and history are all some of those things.”
They have already raised about $30,000 from the community for this effort and are hoping to get enough support from the community with startup costs to reopen Conor Byrne by late spring.