SEATTLE — A longtime country music bar may be closing in Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood. The Little Red Hen has been in business for more than nine decades.
On the weekends, live country music often gets the party going.
The doors aren't open for the night yet, but regulars wanted to give us a taste of nine decades of good vibes.
Here you can count on line dancing, karaoke, and a stiff drink.
"Friday and Saturday, the band is going — it's rocking in here until 2 a.m.," said musician Alex Evangelista.
"There's the open mic community, which I'm a part of. Sunday's it's not your traditional open mic. I describe it to my friends: You have a chance to perform a three-part set with a whole house backing you up," said Evangelista.
But soon, he may have to take his final bow on this stage.
The landlord told the bar owner to leave by the end of the month.
"I'm not sure where I'd perform, but I know who I'd perform with — and it's with everyone I met here at the Hen," said Evangelista.
According to the landlord, the bar has not had a valid lease, even before she took over in 2022.
In a statement, the landlord says she allowed the bar to stay on a month-to-month basis in good faith.
The manager says that's not true and that the landlord tried to raise the rent.
"He has a lease in his hand that says 2030, and he's waving it up — so he has paper that says he can stay here," said manager Kyle Snodgrass.
The landlord says she hopes to still work out a deal.
But now the owner has lawyered up and says he does not plan on leaving.
"This address always stays the same. This is their home," said Snodgrass.
The bar says they're trying to get a petition together and also trying to get the city to designate the bar as culturally important.