(Image: Reverie Ballroom)

Raav (Image: Reverie Ballroom)

By Matt Dowell

A major facelift is underway inside the 117-year-old Odd Fellows Building south of Cal Anderson. This year, Hallie Kuperman stepped away from the building’s Century Ballroom and its accompanying bar-restaurant The Tin Table after 28 years of ownership.

Century is now called Reverie Ballroom and its new ownership has spent the summer renovating the building’s marvelous dance halls. But what happened to The Tin Table?

Sander Raav, nine-year bar manager there, has assumed ownership and plans to reopen under the name The Art Table this fall. Along with the name change, he’s got a few changes in the works.

The team will pare down its food offerings. Small plates will still be available, but the attention will be more on the cocktails.

“We are a bar,” Raav told us. “There’s no deep fryer!”

There’s a new theme in the space, too, hinted in the name.

“We’re bringing in more contemporary art, especially where technology meets art,” said Raav. “Tables will feature local art, with each table having its own conversation piece. We’ll have a rotating display on the walls.”

The Tin Table officially closed at the end of May as part of the larger changes in the Odd Fellows Hall. CHS reported on the plans for Kuperman and Alison Cockrill to wind down the Century after 28 years of swing dance, waltz, salsa and more. They handed the space over to a group led by Seattle event producer Eliza Wilder who negotiated a new lease for the building’s Grand Ballroom and West Hall. Their Reverie Ballroom has taken the mantle of filling the second floor of the hall with dances and classes.

Raav anticipates an official launch of The Art Table that’ll coincide with Reverie’s grand opening weekend event October 3rd through 5th, though dancers at Reverie may have noticed that the bar resumed serving drinks last week. Raav cautions that the team is still ramping up.

(Image: Seattle Bartending Company)

Raav is a first time bar owner, but has ample experience in the cocktail world. Besides managing The Tin Table since 2016, he has owned Seattle Bartending Company, a collection of pro bartenders who provide bar service, liquid catering, and cocktail classes for private events and customers. He’s also a regular in the local and national cocktail competition scenes, first as a successful contender and then as a judge.

It turns out that the competitions are great training for the challenging dynamics required of a bar that also serves multiple spacious ballrooms.

“What makes this place really unique is that four or five hundred people might come through in a night,” said Raav. “We’re making sure we can provide fun cocktails at the bar, but we also have smaller bars in each of the ballrooms with beer, vodka sodas, things like that.”

“If you go to Zig Zag Cafe, there won’t be a hundred people in there getting coronas or tequila. So it’s a bit harder for us — we have to make sure we can execute all of our cocktails in a timely manner even if there are a lot of people here.”

“It’s not like any other place and that’s why I love it so much.”

Raav says that the cocktail competitions really force a bartender to explore and learn.

“It really helps you to push yourself and understand how you can put something together that tastes good, looks good, and is also attractive to people.”

A useful skill in a place with such varied requirements. Rotational menus are often tailored to the dances happening in the ballrooms each night — maybe it’s gin for swing night, then bachata and tequila the next.

“I’ve travelled a lot in my life,” said Raav, who’s originally from Estonia and moved to Seattle in 2010.  “Emotions and things are always changing. I want this place to reflect that as well. When people come back to The Art Table, they’ll maybe find new art, new events. The cocktail menu will reflect that as well.”

The drink style’s diversity is mirrored by diversity in the crowd. Raav attributes that to Kuperman and it’s the foremost quality he wants to bring along from The Tin Table.

“I’ve been to four continents. The Ballroom has always had the most diverse clientele you can get anywhere. We have almost every age group, every ethnicity. What brings people into the ballroom is dance and dance doesn’t discriminate.”

“I learned that from Hallie. People are people and having a space where they all feel welcome is important. So that’s been a big part of what I love and what I want to keep.”

It’s an accepting environment that stands out in a Seattle bar scene that Raav feels is sometimes homogenous. The bar and ballrooms, though they draw large crowds for evenings of revelry, have never needed security guards to keep things safe.

Raav hopes to keep that vibe going, but he’s also excited for what’s to come.

“The ballrooms are getting bigger and better,” he said. “The Art Table will continue to serve them.”

“We also want to provide a place for people who walk in from the street to come in and discover what’s happening in this unique space.”

“Curiosity, discovery, offering people something unique – the space is a vibe that nobody else has in Seattle. I want to emphasize that and bring in more stuff. Contemporary art, things for people to do. Or not do! They can just come in and have a drink.”

“As long as you have a good time, that’s my goal. Good times for good people.”

Check out the Reverie’s site for dance and yoga class news and keep an eye out for more info about The Art Table as Raav and team prepare to officially reopen.

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