The Skylark Cafe & Club must move to survive. There are links on our social pages and on the home page and (here) to our Give Butter site that is raising money to move The Skylark.
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This forces us into a situation where we are facing higher rents, a revision of our business model, and an uncertain future.
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The Skylark may seem like a bar, or a music venue, or a small business, but it is truly a community center, because it acts as a gathering spot for community. Long lasting stories are made here and the stuff of legends cross this stage. The Skylark makes Seattle .... Seattle.
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Do we really need to continue in a cycle of independence? Should The Skylark's ownership alone bear the burden of keeping the doors open?
In the spirit of change, let us - the community of artists that perform at The Skylark, and community of patrons, come together to form a more perfect union of entertainment and community.

Starting with a membership drive and monthly membership dues, the sum total of the membership funds in aggregate are used for The Skylark Cafe & Club employee payroll.

The goal would be to generate a minimum of 1,000 monthly members to turn The Skylark into a social service model and a new novel concept of a music venue and food service business.

The Skylark Cafe & Club would re-incorporate as a B-Corp or Benefit Corporation to further advance the mission of becoming a local social service.
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The menu would be repriced to accommodate the fact that the cost is covered by the membership fee. Drastic downward changes to how much the food costs can be expected. The quality of the ingredients can also increase of the membership drive is strong enough. Imagine - a night out for under $40. It could be done. The point is to misdirect the costs of the operation of the business to offset the cost of the end product.

If the employees are covered in this arrangement though, where does the money go when we pay for food and drinks? The funds generated by commerce and a busy evening will: 
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1. Be super-transparent. This website will be transformed to show the aggregated funds generated by operating the business. We will partner with a 501(c)3 Non-profit to create a stewardship arrangement with the community and establish transparency procedures.
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2. Invest in local artists. We believe The Skylark would be nothing without the Local Artists who perform here. This new organization will routinely invest in local artists by offsetting the costs of making their art.