David (Dave) Meinert

    Pacific Northwest entrepreneur, music manager, festival producer, restaurateur, and civic busybody whose fingerprints are all over Seattle’s cultural life. For three decades he’s been stirring the pot — musically, politically, and occasionally literally (see: Huckleberry Square pies).

    Music, Festivals & Artist Management

    Dave cut his teeth in Seattle’s early-’90s underground — booking wild nights at The Weathered Wall, Oddfellows Hall, Emerald Diner Star Bar, and Sit ’n Spin (where he booked the first three White Stripes shows in Seattle).

    He started managing the anarchist eco-punk outfit ¡TchKung!, then co-founded Repellent Records with Eddie Vedder and Beth Liebling to release her band Hovercraft — who he also managed.

    Through Curtis Management (Pearl Jam’s management), he managed The Posies and Mary Lou Lord. Later, under Fuzed Music, he represented acts including The Master Musicians of Jajouka, The Catheters, Mtn Con, The Presidents of the United States of America, Maktub, Reggie Watts, Blue Scholars, and Common Market.

    He co-founded MassLine Media to release Blue Scholars, Common Market, and Gabriel Teodros. In 2009, he launched Onto Entertainment, managing The Lumineers (helping finance their debut album), Hey Marseilles, and Fences.

    During Pearl Jam’s war with Ticketmaster, Vedder tapped Meinert to help run a mobile pirate radio station that toured with the band. The gear later became Seattle’s underground station FUCC 89.1 FM, DJ’d by his elusive pal James (who’d rather stay anonymous).

    He also did time as VP of Business Development at Screenplay Inc., worked with AEG Presents at Marymoor Park, co-produced the Capitol Hill Block Party, and consulted for Bumbershoot.

    🎭 Arts, Poetry & Cultural Mischief

    In the early ’90s, Dave co-created the Surrealist Magic Theatre at The Weathered Wall with the late DJ EEG (Monte Donaldson), hosting avant-garde legends like Exene Cervenka and Lydia Lunch.

    He and Paul Grajnert then launched the Seattle Poetry Slam at the OK Hotel — igniting the city’s spoken-word scene.

    He also teamed with Krist Novoselic in activist groups like WMIC and JAMPAC to fight the Teen Dance Ordinance and create the All Ages Dance Ordinance, paving the way for all-ages shows.

    He co-founded The Vera Project, served on the Seattle Music Commission, and helped form the Mayor’s Office of Film & Music.

    🍳 Restaurants, Hospitality & Local Do-Goodery

    • The 5 Point Café (Belltown): Seattle’s oldest dive-diner hybrid, owned by Dave since 2009.
    • Mecca Café (Queen Anne): He took over in 2019, keeping the grit, upgrading the plumbing.
    • Huckleberry Square (Burien): Beloved for its pies and community spirit. Meinert started The Giving Wall — letting guests pre-pay meals for neighbors in need — and backs The More We Love Burien and other local causes.

    He’s also been a partner in Queer/Bar, Lost Lake Café & Lounge, Big Mario’s Pizza, The Comet Tavern, and The Mirabeau Room — because caffeine, carbs, and chaos are a winning combo.

    🏙️ Civic Leadership

    Meinert’s served with Belltown United, the Belltown Business Association, and Friends of Tilikum Place, helping revitalize Seattle’s historic Tilikum Place Park.

    He’s been President of the Recording Academy Pacific Northwest Chapter and a National Trustee, representing Northwest creators in national music industry debates.

    He served on Seattle’s Income Inequality Task Force, helped craft the city’s minimum wage and Safe/Sick Time laws, and was an early adopter of restaurant healthcare and retirement benefits.

    During COVID, he became a ventilation evangelist — among the first in the U.S. to install HEPA filters and UVC lights in restaurants, proving that fresh air can, in fact, be punk rock.

    Family & Fun

    Dave’s a proud dad of two daughters and splits time between Seattle and Burien, balancing family, restaurants, and local politics — often all before breakfast.

    📰 Media & Recognition

    Meinert’s been profiled in The Seattle Times, The Stranger, Seattle Met, Chase Jarvis’s Seattle 100, and nationally by the LA Times and Chicago Tribune.

    He’s been named one of Seattle Magazine’s “25 Most Influential People” — and dubbed “the Tom Douglas of deep-fried food.”
    He’s still deciding if that’s a compliment.