A Tribute to Speakeasy

After months of construction, the cafe was ready for business. Officially opening the doors on June 16th, 1995, the Speakeasy Cafe offered an array of delectable eats, Kalani Organica espresso, unconventional sodas, beer and wine served up to the rumpled masses.

Originally, the cafe was peppered with several text-only VT100 machines that enabled customers to access their Speakeasy email accounts -- using Pine, a text-only email software developed by the University of Washington -- shell accounts, bulletin board systems and more. In one corner, an array of graphic terminals were corralled for customers to browse the Internet, leveraging the cafe’s ‘blazing fast’ T1 connection to enjoy early streaming audio and video, or to peruse any of the thousands of GeoCities websites featuring rotating torches and deep quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

After opening, Speakeasy streamed the first live Internet art opening, featuring Sky Cries Mary, developed their first product as an ISP -- Internet in a Burlap Sack -- and helped Jack Straw Productions launch their streaming web-only radio show, Sonarchy, which would go on to find a home as one of KEXP’s most beloved weekly shows.