(Photo courtesy Locust Cider)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

A “neighborhood-y” taproom is what Locust Cider plans to bring to Alki.

We mentioned Friday that the Woodinville-headquartered company is the new tenant for the ex-Alki Urban Market space (2820 Alki SW). This morning, we talked by phone with co-founder Jason Spears to get details on the plan.

He and brother Patrick Spears founded Locust Cider just four years ago. They already have expanded to add taprooms in Ballard and Tacoma, plus Colorado and Texas, but “we’re actually a pretty small company,” Jason insists. “The taprooms we operate are all super-small, neighborhoody, and cider-irst, plus beer and wine.” (They brew the beer, too.)

They’re expecting to have about 50 seats in the Alki taproom, with something their others don’t have: A larger kitchen, so they can serve more food, rather than it being an “afterthought” as is more typical for taprooms. Jason says “cool things are in the works,” details to come, though he offers one: They plan to build on what they’ve been offering with a “really cool gluten-free Brazilian cheese bread,” which is used as the base for “a little hand pie” among other things.

They plan to open with 16 cider and beer taps (and a few by-the-glass wines) in a space that’s more like a coffee shop than a bar, he explains, “a little different” than the stereotypical taproom. Locust offers a cider/beer club for which you can buy a membership, he adds, called “The Swarm”; he says club members “turn into a family,” with everything from special events to an online discussion group. But even if you don’t sign up for that, “the vibe” at the taproom is meant to be a “casual place to hang out and build community.”

He hopes the Alki taproom will be open in July – “we’re not doing much construction, just a facelift inside, shouldn’t take too long.” Hours will be in the noon-9 pm vicinity.

And yes, children will be welcome. Jason is a dad himself. And one of his two kids is inspiration for something else that’s important to Locust Cider – “our cause,” as the company website describes it. His four-year-old daughter Lucy was born with hydrocephalus. Brain surgery is the only way to treat it – Lucy’s already been through it multiple times, as is typical for patients, and Locust raises money for research, through donating part of its proceeds, as well as a $25 donation from each Swarm membership.

Overall, Jason says Locust Cider’s goal is to “become part of the neighborhood, not a big destination place.” He says he’s well aware that West Seattle is “one of the tightest communities” around and he hopes the new taproom will enhance that.