Help Skylark Find Its Next Home

Sound Transit plans to acquire our building near the end of 2027, which means Skylark will be forced to relocate. We are raising $250,000 to help secure a new home, support our staff while we are closed, cover expenses that relocation assistance cannot, and give us enough operating cushion to reopen successfully. Before getting into all of that, I want to say thank you. The support we have received since our situation became public has meant more to us than I can properly express. Every donation, shared post, location lead, benefit show, and message of encouragement reminds us why Skylark is worth fighting for.

Why Skylark Matters

Skylark opened in West Seattle in 2006, and we took over in 2013. Since then, we have worked hard to make it more than a restaurant, bar, or music venue. It is a place where artists can perform, people can gather, and everyone is welcome. We host around 24 events each month, from trivia, bingo, drag, and open mic to live music every weekend. These events bring people together, give artists a place to perform, and keep something happening in the room throughout the week. When an event is ticketed, the proceeds go to the performers and show staff. The food and drinks our guests enjoy are what allow Skylark to keep opening its doors and supporting the next event. That balance allows us to support new artists, touring bands, local performers, and longtime favorites while creating a room where regulars and people visiting for the first time can all feel at home.

What Is Happening

Unfortunately, our building is in the path of Sound Transit’s West Seattle light rail project. After years of uncertainty, we have now been told that Sound Transit expects to acquire the North Delridge properties near the end of 2027. That may sound like plenty of time, but it really is not. Finding the right location, securing a lease or purchase, permitting, building it out, and moving an entire restaurant and music venue could easily take that long. We have already been searching for years without finding a suitable space. Trying to move a restaurant is difficult. Trying to move a restaurant, bar, kitchen, stage, sound system, lighting system, and community space is something else entirely.

What Sound Transit Covers

Sound Transit’s relocation assistance is meaningful, and I do not want to pretend that it is not. It should cover many eligible moving, reinstallation, and functional buildout expenses required for us to operate the way we do now. An additional allowance that was previously $50,000 has also been increased to $200,000, which is much closer to reality. That money can help with certain buildout costs and the difference between our current rent and the rent at a new location for up to 24 months. However, it is restricted assistance, not a blank check. It cannot be used to purchase an existing business or property, pay our employees while we are closed, cover every upfront cost of securing a lease, or provide all of the working capital needed to reopen successfully.

Why We Are Fundraising

That gap is why our fundraising goal is $250,000. Depending on the location we find, donations will help us secure a space, support our staff during a closure that could last between one and three months, cover costs that are not eligible for relocation assistance, and give Skylark enough operating cushion to reopen successfully. We may find an existing restaurant or bar that needs relatively little work, or we may find a space that requires more investment before it can function as a restaurant and live music venue. We will not know the exact cost until we find the right location, but we do know there will be major expenses that Sound Transit cannot cover.

What Is at Stake

On a personal level, this is incredibly difficult to accept. We have survived a pandemic, the West Seattle Bridge closure, and the rising cost of EVERYTHING. We have worked hard, remained independent, and avoided taking on business debt. After everything we have built, circumstances completely outside our control could still bring it all to an end. If we are unable to relocate, we receive $32,000 and walk away after all these years spent building the business and the community around it.

Ouch.

But that is not what we are planning for. We believe relocating gives Skylark its best chance to continue and grow while keeping the heart of what we have built intact. Ideally, we will stay in West Seattle, where our home, family, and community are. We want to keep doing exactly what we do now, only with more room, more visibility, more people coming through the door, and more opportunities for food, drinks, music, and community.

How You Can Help

If you can, please donate, share this fundraiser, send us leads on possible locations, or reach out about organizing a benefit event. Every contribution brings us closer to keeping Skylark’s staff, artists, food, music, and community together. We also know Skylark is only one of many local businesses facing displacement. Each of them has employees, customers, history, and a community built around it. Please continue supporting all of the businesses affected by this project whenever you can. Losing any of them would mean losing part of what makes this neighborhood feel like home.

From all of us at Skylark, thank you for believing in us and helping us fight for the next chapter.

Matt and the Skylark family

Let's Move The Skylark!

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