After shuttering in the spring, longtime Ballard music venue and bar Conor Byrne Pub will re-emerge in a new form this summer: as a cooperative. A successful fundraising campaign allowed its leadership team to build the co-op from the ground up, and the pub plans to celebrate its reopening with KEXP-sponsored shows on August 2 and 3.
The pub, the neighborhood’s oldest, closed at the end of March to the community’s dismay. But a team of supporters and employees led by Adria Dukich, Dan Sodomka and Maria Rocco saw a future for Conor Byrne if it was re-organized with a more sustainable business model. Under the new co-op structure, members of the public pay a one-time membership fee in exchange for certain perks. The pub’s leadership team hopes the new business model will allow the community to take a more active role in the pub’s financial and cultural future.
Before the bar closed, the group launched a fundraising campaign to support the logistics involved in its reopening. By May, the group had surpassed its fundraising goal, with more than $50,000 in donations. That money was used for the co-op’s startup costs: purchasing a business license, supporting marketing efforts and paying for lawyers to help draft bylaws for the revived business. Most of that $50,000 came within a 48-hour period, according to Leigh Bezezekoff, Conor Byrne’s marketing and ticketing manager.
“I’m really impressed with the committee members and musicians and employees who have been working really hard on this since December,” Bezezekoff said.
That was just the beginning. The co-op is still recruiting community members from Seattle and beyond to join what has now become a 430-member base. Prospective members can pay a one-time membership fee of $300, which can be split into 12 or 30-month installments. Members must be Washington residents older than 21, and are approved by the co-op’s board (so good luck if you’ve been 86’ed).
“We wanted to make sure that the barriers for participation were affordable, because many in our community are working artists,” Bezezekoff said.
According to the venue’s website, membership privileges will include drink specials, access to special events and advance pre-sales. Members will also be able to vote at annual meetings.
The Moondoggies are scheduled to kick off reopening festivities next Friday and Saturday, August 2 and 3, at 9 p.m. for guests 21 and over. If you can’t make the reopening shows, the co-op has events scheduled through mid-September, including some of the pub’s weekly mainstays: Sunday open mic nights, Tuesday night country dance lessons — and a slate of live shows from local artists.
Next weekend’s festivities mark Conor Byrne’s official reopening, but Art Zone did a live taping of performances at Conor Byrne in June that recently aired on the Seattle Channel. The team felt “incredible” during the small event. “It just reinforced how important this was and who we’re doing this for,” Bezezekoff said.
The co-op is also working with governmental and tourism organizations to finalize their participation in this year’s soon to be announced Cloudbreak Music Festival. Its leadership team also plans to be involved in November’s Freakout music festival that will be held across Ballard and Fremont.
Bezezekoff said the group is planning to transition away from its original fundraising page to work with Shunpike, a Seattle-based nonprofit that the pub hopes will streamline the donation process through a fiscal sponsorship. They’re also still looking for investor-level donations.
