The Spar, one of Tacoma’s oldest taverns that has been shepherded by the same family for nearly 40 years, has been sold to a new — still local — group of owners. They closed the bar temporarily on Sunday for a light refresh and will reopen on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m., just in time for the weekly jazz set.
The shake-up comes about seven months after the death of longtime Spar matriarch Kathy Manke following a battle with cancer. She had purchased the Old Town haunt with a friend in 1988, carrying it through the decades until the late 2010s, when she bequeathed it to her son, Kris Manke, and granddaughters Rena Manke and Adrielle Flinders with their families.
According to a Facebook and Instagram post first shared Oct. 27, Manke and Flinders had discussed the future with their grandmother, whom they called GG, and “felt our chapter at The Spar was coming to an end.”…