By JASON TRACHTENBURG

I recently had the chance to interview Lee Hirschhorn, owner of Sylvia's Little Red Hen. We talked about the storied history of his establishment, which, by the way, is the only Seattle venue to feature live country music exclusively. Here is how our interview went:

JT: So you would like to separate this establishment from yuppiedom?

LH: "We don't have to separate ourselves. We've never been that way. We just do what we've been doing for 35 years. Though, we now have five microbrews on tap."

JT: Well, that doesn't necessarily constitute yuppiedom.

LH: "Most people that are younger want a microbrew on tap. We can cater to everyone."

JT: Let's talk about the history of the Little Red Hen.

LH: "They originally opened the Little Red Hen at (North) 50th and Phinney Ridge (Avenue N). That's where it was until 1955 when they moved down here to Green Lake. In fact, at one time, this place was called Werling's Supper Club when it opened in 1947. Cliff Werling is still alive. He's about 81 years old. He's a great old guy and is sharp as a tack. They actually had the first liquor license in Seattle here after prohibition was repealed here in 1947. It was at one time quite a big band place. They had a meat locker downstairs. This place was actually built as a bomb shelter. The floors are literally 22-inches thick. We found that out when we had to drill a hole in the concrete to get some lines up here for the beers on tap. It took them two days to do it. It is built to last, as they say. It was built during the '50s with the bomb shelter in mind. There are still the fallout shelter signs down there. We figure if anything happens we'll go downstairs. There's lots of beer down there and lots of food ... We'll last for a while."

JT: With Y2K coming, that might not be a bad idea. Tell us how you became involved in purchasing the Little Red Hen.

LH: "In 1996 the Little Red Hen was closing down. I had a broker call me from out of the blue who said that I really should look at this place. I kind of laughed and said: 'What do I know about a country bar?' I walked in on a Thursday night, about two weeks before they were going to close and they had posters all over the place saying 'closing party' and I was astounded at what I saw. Everybody knew everybody. It was very low key. I felt very comfortable and unthreatened. I came back Friday night and was astounded at the crowd that was here. Everybody was dancing and having a good time. I thought 'how could they close this place?' How many bars in Seattle have this kind of history and comradery? So we made them (the previous owners) an offer the next week and saved the bar at the last possible minute."

JT: What aspect of the Little Red Hen do you pride yourself most on?

LH: "I think it goes back to that feel. It's a place where anyone can come in and feel comfortable and not feel out of place. I like the fact that women can come in here by themselves or in groups and they're not going to get hit on or bothered. It's a real refuge here. This is not a singles bar. This is just a comfortable place to come and hear some music. We never charge a cover. It's a fun time when the band is rocking and the place is going crazy. That's what it should be."

JT: What days of the week do you present live music?

LH: "We have music Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We do karaoke on Wednesday. We're pretty mainstream here. We get a pretty good reception. Fridays and Saturdays you come here and boogie. It's really simple here. There's no magic formula. People want to party. They want to have a good time."

Check out the Little Red Hen's 34th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, April 17, featuring music by Buckaroo Blues.