Driving down Lake City Way, there’s a warm light in the distance — a beacon calling you to a bar room full of beers and bands. The soft, yellow light that’s been glowing decades is the sign for the Shanty Tavern, though it’s known by another name to its owner.
“She is called Miss Shanty,” John Spaccarotelli tells KUOW. He’s owned the place and poured drinks for “umpteen years.”
More precisely, John Spaccarotelli has spent 64 years at this spot on the edge of the road in Lake City, running what’s referred to as the “last roadhouse” in Seattle.
This style of a neighborhood bar, equipped with a dance floor, used to be more common decades ago. John Spaccarotelli’s patrons and family see it as a vanishing piece of Seattle culture.
“There’s just something special about this place,” says Lisa Casal, who comes in for music regularly and enjoys a front row seat at the bar. “These places are disappearing — and it’s sad.”
For the last few years, John Spaccarotelli has only been opening the Shanty Tavern on Friday nights for beer and live music. His three daughters and his grandkids are here to help him out through the busy closing night.
Many of the business’s regulars live in Lake City and walk to the bar from their homes. Now they’re figuring what they’ll do with their Friday nights once the tavern’s doors close.
One regular, Eric Beam, has a “reserved” barstool at the far end of the bar, where he can always be found reading a thick book.
“I come here at the end of the week, sit here, and talk stories with John,” Beam says. “And I leave with a big smile on my face, feeling better. I’m really going to miss that.”
John Spaccarotelli doesn’t plan to sell the land or building, but the 94-year-old said retirement is calling.
“I’m just going to take it easy for a while,” he says.
The Shanty Tavern has been home to longtime regulars like Michael Wansley, better known around here as Wanz, who’s been coming since the 1990s.
“[I] come down here every Friday with a whole bunch of the neighborhood cats,” he says. “We hang out here, play pool, drink beer.”
On its last Friday night open, the Shanty Tavern is much busier than usual, Wansley says, because this is one of the last nights The Shanty Tavern is pouring beers.
People have come to pay their respects and give one last toast.
“I would toast the fact that the beer is always cold, the jokes are almost always dirty, and the asses are always smart,” Wansley says with a raised glass.
In the low, crowded barroom, the Rat City Brass Band wails in one corner. The dance floor is so packed, the floorboards bounce up and down.
John Noe books the bands here. And since the place is so busy on closing night, he’s helping pick up empty bottles, too.
“Twelve years doing this, so it’s the end of an era,” Noe says. “Kind of bittersweet tonight. You know, they’ve become a part of my family.”
It’s an emotional night for the entire Spaccarotelli family. John Spaccarotelli’s daughter, Dayna, has been working with him here for the past 18 years.
“Lot of tears will come later, [I’m] trying to hold it together right now,” Dayna Spaccarotelli says. “My whole life has been here.”
She grew up here with her two sisters. The three used to come in to “help” their dad.
“We’d dance to the jukebox. We’d play shuffleboard and pool. We’d throw darts,” Dayna Spaccarotelli says.
A lot of old regulars made the trip on Friday to say goodbye to the Spaccarotellis. The hardest part, Dayna Spaccarotelli says, is seeing all these old faces and sharing memories.
“I just keep telling myself to just get through tonight. Just get through tonight. It’ll be okay,” Dayna says. “It’s not going to be okay.”
John Spaccarotelli says he plans to spend more time with his family after his retirement. He also wants more time to do what he loves: dancing. He even met a potential new dance partner at the bar’s last call.
“She says she likes to dance,” he said. “Ao I’ll find out if she likes to dance that much with me.”
By around 1:15 a.m., the Shanty Tavern crowd has slimmed down, but the bar’s regulars, who don’t want the place to close yet, have stuck around.
Fulvio Longo, who has a favorite corner barstool, brought in some champagne and is singing goodbye songs with John Spaccarotelli.
Then comes the moment everyone’s been dreading:
“Last call! Last call!” John Spaccarotelli shouts out above the noise. “That’s it, everybody. Last call.”
John Spaccarotelli insists this isn’t goodbye, though.
He says he’ll host one more open house in January and then maybe rent the place out.
But no matter what, the glowing sign isn’t coming down, he says.
“Thank you for the good times with the people that I’ve met,” he says. “And hopefully I’ll meet someone on the street saying, ‘Hi, John.’”
The Seattle Seahawks lost a key member of the front office to the Minnesota Vikings, as the NFC North team named Nolan Teasley its new general manager. The hire could change the fortunes of both teams in the immediate future.
Teasley will be taking over a Vikings team that isn’t far away from contending. One of the key reasons the team fired former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wasn’t that he couldn’t build a collection of talent, but that he didn’t seem to understand how to get the best possible answer at the most important position in sports: Quarterback.
Vikings fans watched as former QB1 in Minnesota, Sam Darnold, signed with the Seahawks last offseason, and then followed that by helping lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. That was Seattle’s second title. Minnesota has never won a Super Bowl.
Teasley, though, has the experience and, clearly, the ability to create an environment in which a team will thrive. He has been working with general manager John Schneider in Seattle since 2013, and has worked in scouting and been the director of pro personnel. He has most recently served as Schneider’s assistant GM.
Schneider could very well be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day after leading the Seahawks to two Super Bowl wins. Still, with teams with two completely different rosters and coaching staffs (Schneider is the only GM to ever do that), Teasley would have learned at the knee of one of the best to ever perform general manager duties.
Nolan Teasley could also be entering a situation where his new team is already poised to make a deep run in the playoffs. Minnesota finished 9-8 last season despite the fact that its quarterback play was among the worst in the NFL. This offseason, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray.
Murray underwhelmed or was injured throughout his career with the Arizona Cardinals, as Seattle Seahawks fans know well due to their favorite team counting on two wins every season against the NFC West brethren, but under the wise direction of Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, Murray could be coaxed into playing a much better form of football.
As the Minnesota Vikings play in the NFC, and could potentially be a difficult obstacle for the Seahawks to repeat as Super Bowl champions, Teasley is already in a good spot. The issue for Seattle is that Teasley is smart enough to make moves to get Minnesota even better well into the future. A great rivalry between Seattle and the Vikings might be about to start.
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This is an open thread.
SEATTLE – After waking up to a smattering of clouds this morning, skies gradually cleared through the afternoon as sunshine increased around Western Washington. Temperatures climbed into the low 60s for many communities, making for a pleasant and quiet start to the weekend.
What’s next:
Sunday will remain mild and dry with a little more warmth expected across the region. Winds will shift to a more northerly direction, helping temperatures inch upward compared to Saturday.
Sunny weather helps Seattle reach the low to mid 80s Tuesday during the warmest day of the week. (FOX 13 Seattle)
The warming trend will continue Monday as highs climb into the 70s under mostly sunny skies.
By Tuesday, a developing thermal trough along the Cascades will help usher in the warmest air of the week. Sunshine is expected throughout the day with temperatures soaring into the low to mid 80s for many communities.
Some of the traditionally warmer locations could climb even higher. The warmer, drier air will also raise fire danger across parts of the region.
This weather pattern helps Seattle experience sinking air, abundant sunshine, and significantly warmer temperatures. (FOX 13 Seattle)
If you’re planning to cool off at area lakes, rivers, creeks, or streams, remember that water temperatures remain dangerously cold despite the warmer air. Wearing a life vest is strongly encouraged.
Stay heat aware on Tuesday as Seattle weather warms quickly while rivers and lakes remain dangerously cold. (FOX 13 Seattle)
The heat will begin easing Wednesday as temperatures fall back into the low 70s. A cooler onshore flow pattern will continue Thursday and Friday, bringing highs back into the 60s. An isolated shower or two may develop Friday as a weak weather system approaches the Pacific Northwest.
Cooler weather returns to Seattle later in the week with highs back in the 60s and a slight shower chance Friday. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Take good care,
Meteorologist Abby Acone and the FOX 13 Weather Team
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