Locöl Barley and Vine, a wine and beer pub soon to open at 7902 35th Ave SW in West Seattle has been in the process of getting ready for more than eight months.

Owners Kyle Duce and Shane Whittall have endured the long bureaucratic process and now with only a few weeks until they open they are asking for help from the neighborhood.

The business is essentially self financed and the time spent waiting for official wheels to turn has taken a toll. During the construction process Whittall said, "We would have a lot of people come up to us and ask if there was some way they could help. We know that people don't have a lot of cash but we decided we might be able to give our friends and future customers a unique way to help us launch."

The company is sponsoring a "Community Puzzle", literally a jigsaw puzzle in which customers can purchase a piece. The puzzle will be 3 feet by 4 feet in dimension and will be an image once completed. Each piece purchased will have the name of the person who contributed on a plaque adjacent to the puzzle on permanent display.

"We're asking people who can and are interested, to make an investment in getting our business launched as part of the community," said Duce. "We want to grow the neighborhood and give back at the same time," said Whittall.

The pieces start at $25, though you can donate any amount. You can purchase your piece through a PayPal account set up and linked through the company's Facebook page or website at www.locolseattle.com.

"Once the puzzle is complete we want to take 10% of that money and give it back to the community," said Duce who indicated their preference would be to donate to West Seattle Helpline.

The new restaurant and bar will feature all local wines and beers including unique wine based cocktails. "We want to be offer people an alternative to the normal wine and beer choices," said Whittall. An example of one he described is an exotic combination of Grenache wine, egg white, cinnamon, and nutmeg blended. Others will be 'floats' of ingredients layered in the glass to create both a visual and tasty combination.

According to Head Chef Meredith Abbott the food selections at Locöl will be largely casual fare but with some distinct gourmet touches. "Easy food," she said, "Paninis, soups, some baked items, 'grown up style' mac and cheese. Everything's pretty health concious. I'm kind of working on a horseradish, pulled pork sandwich with pickled onion and apple slaw right now and either a dill aioli or super grainy mustard. The menu is "pretty much, pretty solid," at this point she said. "Everything is locally based, we might use some Oregon items and some California. We're going to Charlie's Produce and they are all about local."

"Local artisans is what we really want to support," said Abbott. "You might even see me with a bike basket full of greens from a local Pea Patch garden here this spring and summer," Duce said.

They will offer salads, a local cheese tray of course and snacks. "Snacks are kind of the fun part of this," Abbott said, "One of my collaborators came up with what we're called 'Chicknuts' which are roasted chickpeas and some pumpkin seeds roasted with spices until they are crunchy outside and creamy inside. We're also doing Chard Chips, dehydrated leaves of chard. They are this vibrant green and seasoned really well with lemon zest and cayenne and cumin."

They will offer cheeses from Mount Townsend Creamery. "They have four or five offerings and they are fabulous," said Abbott. They will also offer "Tommes" which is "a little softer, little younger cheese like Parmesan style cheese," Abbott said. Along with the cheeses they will also make their own jams to go with bread or crackers such as a "lavendar fig jam".

There will be an indoor gas fireplace, a long bar made of reclaimed wood and both booths and tables for seating. An outdoor deck is out back, still being built.

If all goes as planned they will be open in the next couple of weeks for a soft open with the Grand Opening planned in the near future.