Years ago, many knew this community as a rugged, working-class neighborhood. Now, Ballard has become swankified by pricey boutiques and faddish nightlife. People come here in droves, and, for many North Seattleites, it has become a place to get their groove on, providing a nice alternative to the ornateness of downtown.

This has become a part of Ballard dialogue - even in the women's restroom at a new Ballard bar, BalMar.

"Ballard is just so cool now," said one slightly martini-happy thirty something, visiting from Queen Anne. "It's just... the place to be!"

As families swoop into Ballard, monopolizing new condo developments, the streets will likely be busier, the bars and restaurants more crowded and life here a bit more like the small city Ballard claims to be. BalMar co-owner and Ballard native Steve Mako said he predicted his neighborhood would one day become the busy hub it is today. Opening a bar in Ballard has been a dream of Mako's since he worked in his father's office machine store on Ballard Avenue years ago; the same building that is the BalMar today.

"It's been like this for the last couple of years," said Mako of Ballard's growing nightlife scene. "But for a solid year we've noticed the amount of people flowing through."

"It seems like every six months it increases another level," said Andrea Martin, Mako's business partner. "It really made us anxious to open our doors."

Martin, an eight-year Ballard resident, makes a living out of bringing people together. Her social club business, Space City Mixer, inspired her to form that vision for the BalMar.

The moveable tables and ottomans, shareable menu portions, communal benches and low music are part of an encouragement campaign to increase interaction and conversation. Martin envisions the BalMar becoming a place where people become a part of conversations... with strangers.

The whole idea is to get to know your fellow neighbor, said Mako.

A busy Saturday night in Ballard leads to a visit to the BalMar, where bartender Mandy served up a Cosmopolitan. It's ready in record time, despite the throngs of people behind, beside and below the second floor at one of the BalMar's two full bars - crowded bars, crowded floors.

Between conversations and laughter were slivers of music - maybe Dylan or Heart. Two pool tables line the south wall upstairs, staying occupied all night.

Nearly two inches of plaster have been scraped off the original brick walls, and old carpet torn up to reveal sandy brown, now polished, wood floors. Some of the native 1920s lighting still hangs overhead. Above the bar are low-hung, long dim lights, imported from a convent on Whidbey Island. It's hard to believe this modern cocktail lounge was once a place where locals could buy a calculator.

"People say they never thought they would see something like this in Ballard," said Mako.

"It seems like some Ballard residents are almost thankful - like it upped the reputation of their neighborhood," said Martin.

The BalMar, named for its location at the corner of Ballard Avenue and Market Street, opened its doors just eight weeks ago, and so far, business has been promising.

"One seat empties and another one fills it," said Andrea's boyfriend, Dwayne Martin, on a recent busy night.

He estimated that more than three quarters of the 500 to 600 BalMar customers a night come from what he calls "the Ballard Union," which includes Phinney Ridge, Wallingford, Greenlake and Greenwood.

Similarly, other bars around Ballard have seen an upsurge in business during the past few years. The Matador, a Tex-Mex style bar and restaurant on the corner of Ballard Avenue and Market Street, opened just two years ago.

"We were busy out the gate, but the last year has been really busy," said manager Shane Apper. A major deciding factor to open Matador in Ballard was the growing population, condo developments and new businesses in the area, he said.

When Ballard's Tractor Tavern, a live music venue and bar, debuted 13 years ago the owners had no idea Ballard would become such a booming business district, said the Tractor's Ryan Ellis.

Customers used to primarily consist of band fans, but lately more kinds of people are popping in to see what's happening. Some customers are from nearby neighborhoods but most are recent additions to Ballard, looking around for a cool place to spend an evening and get to know their neighborhood, said Ellis.

Although a five-year-old city census report says the majority population in Ballard is between the ages of 21 and 39, it isn't just the younger the crowd out painting Ballard red. Apper, Ellis and BalMar owners say their crowds vary from 21 to 81-years-old.

This transformation isn't going unnoticed outside the city either. Sunset Magazine recently called Ballard "Seattle's most dynamic neighborhood... the once working class Nordic neighborhood ... offers unexpectedly chic shopping in a community that feels wonderfully removed from the rest of the city."

And many BalMar customers agree. One patron, and Ballard resident, said instead of trekking downtown, she now enjoys what Ballard has to offer. And there's no expensive cab ride home.

"People want to stay in their own neighborhood and Ballard has gotten to a point where there is enough diversity to enjoy a nice meal, some music and have a really great time," said Mako. "Ballard is finally fulfilling a long-time need for venues that offer a place for a nice cocktail and some amazing food."

Is it the new restaurants, bars and boutiques that have coaxed people to fill Ballard businesses, or are people just showing a new interest in their community? Mako and Martin can't say for sure, but agreed that opening in Ballard 10, or even five years ago, wouldn't have been a prosperous idea.

"Maybe if we were the only ones," said Mako.