Before the wrecking ball, music lives on in West Seattle

West Seattle small businesses face the wrecking ball

As Sound Transit’s Link Extension project expands into West Seattle, small businesses like Mode Music Studio and Skylark Cafe will likely see the wrecking ball.

SEATTLE - Music fills the building at Skylark Cafe on a Tuesday night. The hybrid venue is part restaurant, part rock music venue, and once a month, its stars are pint-sized musicians.

Over the years, Mode Music Studio has developed a partnership putting its musicians on stage. The school, which offers music lessons for all ages and skill levels, treks next door along Delridge Way to put on a show.

"The bigger the crowd gets, the more anxiety I get," said Ashton, an eight-year-old who plays the piano. "It’s the good type of anxiety."

Ashton is one of the star pupils at Mode. Erin Rubin, the owner, told FOX 13 News that she sees the same drive in Ashton that she had at his age.

"I probably had more nerves when I was his age," she said with a laugh. "I had to work through that, he’s just so confident."

Rubin founded Mode Music a decade ago. What started as basement lessons grew into a studio. They teach kids, teens and adults — and those students have grown the business over the years.

"It’s been hard, but really rewarding," said Rubin.

Which is why what comes next is so difficult. Mode is preparing for a major move — one it didn’t have a real say in.

As Sound Transit’s West Seattle Link Extension project expands service from SODO to the Alaska Junction neighborhood Mode, Skylark and a handful of other small businesses will likely see the wrecking ball.

With little commercial space in the area, Rubin is now scrambling to raise funds for a new start.

She penned an open letter to families that work with them earlier this year, telling patrons: "We are at the mercy of Sound Transit’s timeline in regards to accessing any funds available for our relocation. We have very specific needs and restrictions and commercial space is sparse."

It’s believed a relocation would cost upwards of $300,000, and the timeline could span six to nine months.

Meanwhile, students are getting a firsthand lesson that music may just need a home.

"It’s been frustrating to seek a new space when that’s the last thing on my student’s minds," said one of the teachers.

As for the students, the work continues – part of the work to fund their own move revolves around doing the work on their own timeline to avoid interrupting lessons and unwinding a business that took a decade to grow.

It is a herculean task, when the main goal continues to be the music that brings joy to the hearts of students like Ashton.

Ask him about the move, and the topic quickly shifts back to music – it’s easy to realize that he’s a young boy. However, to those at the Skylark, it’s easy to forget as he sits behind a keyboard and his fingers fly over a keyboard as he brings "Piano Man" to life, complete with harmonica.

"It’s something weird," he said in response to his ability to learn music by simply listening to the songs he loves. "It’s hard to explain – I just heard this one song, and I went to the piano and I knew it in a second."

The passion he speaks with is what Rubin says is at risk.

Sound Transit has made it clear they’ll compensate businesses that are forced to move. How much that money is, or when it arrives, is unknown.

The agency hosted rail expansion discussions in April, noting that it could take up to two years for decisions to be finalized.

Rubin told FOX 13 News it’s not only her business at stake, but a future filled with music for her students.

"It’s been a really positive thing for these kids," she said. "I’ve seen a lot of students throughout the years – there are some that come through that are truly exceptional."

The Skylark Cafe and Mode Music both have fundraisers set up to help with relocation.