Tara Eckman Scott was my friend. She passed away from health complications on July 12th 2021. She was survived by her 3 boys, all very successful and 2 have scholarships for football with the potential to be drafted to the NFL. Among her many other accomplishments she is a great friend, loyal family member, loving mother and simply great company. Her memorial service was held recently at her bar in White Center called “Taradise Cafe” which was a local bar that featured adult beverages, food, music and community. Taradise is the former location of Marv’s Broiler which many people would have considered the “cheers” of White Center for many decades. Once Tara took over the bar she was unable to change the monumental Marv’s Broiler sign without significant efforts so her sign was placed over the original. Despite the unfortunate outside altercations that happened outside of her bar she still defiantly achieved the status as the new “cheers” of White Center. Tara had a major presence, she was beautiful, funny and quick witted. Often times you could find her inside overseeing things and/or having a drink with one of her friends on the center couches in the lounge area. The bar had all the dive bar accents with a Beach theme. Tara had this talent where she could entertain 10-15 people at a time with conversations making each person feel special like she was only talking to them individually. I know because I was one of those people. I remember staying longer than expected just because I would spot Tara walking in. Her infectious smile mixed with trucker mouth humor complimented every aspect of the bar. Most of her staff has been there with her since the beginning because they enjoyed working for her. Tara would do anything for anyone including allowing homeless inside during cold seasons to stay warm. Taradise sometimes would get a rough press due to the several tragedies that happened outside of the bar. Tara once told me she thought of closing the bar to avoid any more issues but told me many that many loved it there. Basically I felt like she knew the bar meant a lot to the community from the feedback she was given and I agreed. I never once had one problem there and trust me I frequented this place a lot. I have celebrated birthdays at Taradise, pre-gamed before concerts, met for business, went on dates here, relocated from other venues or sometimes enjoyed live music or comedy shows here. In the summer time Tara would have Food Trucks outside in the parking lot supporting other small business owners. She would welcome anyone inside no matter who you were and sometimes that can have consequences but isn’t that Seattle right now? It’s a shame so many are quick to zero on the outside of her bar when the city of Seattle is showing scars everywhere. Either way, when you walked inside you could see Tara’s messaged across the wall. Where she had a large banner that read “Nuthin but Love” across the wall. The music was always on point and the vibe always felt right. Tara built this. At the memorial service last Saturday we heard some people give speeches on Tara’s life including her 3 sons. Many shed tears and we all felt the pain of the loss as her bar was filled with the entire community. Every parking spot down 16th Ave SW was filled and parked on the sidewalks as family and friends filled her parking lot. Tara will be deeply missed by everyone across the city and White Center may never be the same. There has been talks of the family continuing the bar in Tara’s memory but nothing confirmed as of yet. Rest in Taradise my friend.