Two beloved downtown Seattle venues rumored to close

Two iconic Seattle venues, Madame Lou’s and Here-After, are closing their doors.

City Cast Seattle, a podcast and newsletter following the ongoings of the Emerald City, confirmed the closures after staff at both venues received emails from management.

The date for the closure is potentially as early as mid-December, City Cast Seattle stated.

The Crocodile, an independent music venue hall, owned and operated both Madam Lou’s and Here-After. Madam Lou’s was named after the infamous Seattle iconoclast, hosting everything from all-ages punk shows to dance nights.

Here-After is a 100-seat comedy club and movie theater that hosts touring comics, local monthly comedy showcases, live podcast tapings, selected films, and intimate performances by musicians.

“It’s absolutely devastating. We were really excited about them opening and taking that leap to open a bigger space because it offered more diversity,” Leigh Bezezekoff, co-director of the Washington Nightlife Music Association, told City Cast Seattle. “It’s heartbreaking when any music ecosystem loses their small rooms because that is a building ground for so many artists of all genres to work out, get experience on stages, connect with fans and build their fanbase.”

The Crocodile reinvented itself after moving a few blocks from its original spot in 2020. The new space allowed the music venue to have a 750-capacity showroom, a 300-capacity venue, a 100-seat comedy club and movie theater, a daytime café, an alley restaurant-bar, and a 17-room hotel in the 1954 Sailors Union of the Pacific building, formerly El Gaucho.

The building is located at First and Wall Street. The Crocodile also operates Hotel Crocodile and Oodalalee, which are expected to remain open, as of this reporting.

MyNorthwest reached out to the Crocodile for comment.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

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