August Update // Where & How

So. Where are we at with the move, and how is it going? 

The where part of that question is easy: We found a space that we liked way back in April. We've gotten quotes on the construction we need done, and negotiated the rent to a number that will be affordable for the club long-term. Nothing is officially locked in until the lease is officially signed, but we have a vision and a plan, and as soon as it’s signed (any day now) construction will get moving.

The space is located in the “Ballard Square” building just a few blocks from us on Market St. You first enter the building from either the north or south side, and then Waystone will be one of the suites on the second floor. Our vision is for the exterior of the space to be pretty minimal, allowing us to really lean into the speakeasy idea. Once inside, the space itself is slightly bigger than both the current speakeasy and annex combined. See the video below for a little walkthrough.

How is it going, though? Woof. That’s the question causing me to drag my feet on writing this blog post. Things feel pretty daunting right now.

We took a lot of risks when we opened the first Waystone—a lot felt scary and insurmountable. But we scraped everything together with a ton of support from the community, and in hindsight we were really fortunate in a lot of ways. We found the perfect space so quickly, without the need to negotiate everything through a broker. Our landlord was willing to talk to us face to face, take a risk on a new business, and cut us a reasonable deal on rent. We only needed to commit to a two year lease, and we didn't need to do any permitting with the city or complete any major renovations.

Some snippets from the process of creating the original Waystone back in 2022.

With the current move, everything is three times bigger. It feels kind of like when the Power Rangers would defeat a villain, only for Rita Repulsa to turn it into a giant.

We’re looking at a 7-year lease. The most basic renovations that we need in order to get the place running will cost about $100,000 (not including anything else associated with the move like legal fees, construction permits, partial rent on the space while we build it out, etc.) And we’ll be taking care of all the work and costs of bringing this place into existence while also keeping the *current* Waystone open.

Dodging licensing, permitting, legal lingo, and predatory lease clauses.

And those are just the practical details! On the emotional side, Stefan and I both have been grappling with a pretty nagging sense of powerlessness. It’s been a lot of cold online text chats with department of construction experts who don’t know how to answer our questions about permitting, department of health employees who tell us they’ll call the next business day but never do, telephone hold soundtracks interrupted by robot voices, praying that we can just please talk to a human who will care about our situation, awkward conversations with lawyers and brokers and bankers, gauging how much confidence to exude and when to admit that we don’t really know what we’re doing. Scanning a thirty-page lease first thing in the morning, and considering all the ways it will give a landlord we’ve never met control over us.

Grieving the loss of our current space is just a cherry on top. This sacred thing we’ve nursed into being for the past three years is being consumed by the churn of commercial real estate development.

At the lowest points, I catch myself wondering, “Is something like Waystone really meant to exist in the world? Is it really working?” From a business standpoint, the jury is still out. But then I think about all the faces who have come in and told me that they feel at home at Waystone. I see them making legit friendships, and am reminded that every month Waystone exists can be life-saving for someone.

Pictured above: How we know it’s working.

If you’ve read this far and are wondering what you can do to help ensure we get through the next few months smoothly, I need you to first really internalize these words:

You are already supporting us exactly as much as you need to.

Whether you pay for a membership, buy drinks, or pause before each of your games and genuinely ask the person across from you how they’re doing, you’re already plugging so many gaps that we as a staff can't. None of this would exist without you. 

If you’re still wanting to go further to support us, however, the number one thing that would ease this process is to support the GoFundMe that we’re launching today.

We work our darndest every day to bring in revenue without burning out or compromising our values, but we couldn’t have planned for the timing or scope of this move, and Waystone doesn’t have the money in the bank to get through debt-free. No-strings-attached donations are the best way to help us emerge from all of this without sinking Waystone into a pit that we’ll need to claw ourselves out of later.

Something we’ll also need a lot of help with in the near future is preparing the new space. This will include things like tearing down walls, making dump runs, cleaning, painting, moving furniture from one space to the other, and more. The more of that we can do ourselves, the less money we’ll need to complete the construction, so if you're someone who has time and skills in those areas, we’ll definitely need your help. We’ll let the whole community know when we need those extra hands.

Thanks for being here with us, for wanting to know the gritty details, and for all of your support.

To trust and learning and soft landings.

-Dustin