Why Are There So Few Legit Speakeasies?

[MK]

An article I just published.

Which is your favorite?

https://vanportinsider.com/bars/why-are-there-so-few-legit-speakeasies/

 

[rogueclimber]

"Why Are There So Few Legit Speakeasies?"​

My flip answer is: The 21st Amendment…

My more in depth answer would be the watering down of language. Precise terms are no longer used precisely. Your article had the definition of a speakeasy. But people don't care to be accurate with definitions anymore. They become enchanted with a term or an idea but fail to learn what it really is, so the less than correct becomes acceptable.

If I call my "very" unique bar a speakeasy people will think it is cool; I built it (no matter how incorrectly) and they shall come

 

[Hurricane Jack]

An article I just published.

Which is your favorite?

https://vanportinsider.com/bars/why-are-there-so-few-legit-speakeasies/

Back when most cities passed ordinances prohibiting smoking in public places (1990’s) establishments such as pool halls & tobacconist shops become private clubs charging a small membership fee in order to keep on doing what they do, & keep minors & the public out & safe from secondhand smoke. Out of that came private upscale membership clubs with lockers & humidors for alcohol & tobacco, upscale bars featuring handcrafted cocktails & small batch whiskies instead of IPA’s & gas station beers.

Long term success of individual clubs depends largely on the clientele they are able to attract as members. Successful clubs become a place where like minded members can network both in business & socially. Such clubs are today’s Speakeasy’s.

 

[Edward]

It's an interesting concept. Insofar as anything directly comparable exists on this side of the Atlantic, they tend to be a much older concept. The Shebeen (from the Irish 'sibin' (forgive my lack of accents. no idea how to add them on this keyboard) for illicit whiskey; similar concept to Poitin (potcheen)) goes back as far as the 1700s. For a whole range of reasons, some of them more to do with providing a venue for the discussion of politics (and, at times, political tactics) that would have been unwise to discuss in the open. Much romanticised - often overly so - by the modern era. They had a bit of a rise in the 60s when licensing laws and opening hours were much more restrictive (as 'after-hours' drinking dens), and again in the Covid era among those determined to oppose lockdown rules at a time when the legitimate hospitality industry wasn't open. I'm sure there's been an equivalent here in England at some point, though (especially in London) the long existence of both private member's clubs and working men's clubs likely created much less demand for the idea of a private pace only acceptable to members/ those in the know. The former still exist, particularly around Pall Mall and that part of London, with annual memberships from GBP700 and upwards, some closer GBP2,000. The established clubs (the Athenaeum, the Oxford & Cambridge, the Liberal, the East India, the Reform Club and all the rest) still operate for particular social elites, as ever they did. Many working men's clubs have not been so lucky, though there are survivors here and there. Often they have evolved into alternative cultural spaces that support, and are in turn supported by, the arts, cabaret, the queer community, dance classes, club nights, live music, and on and on.

I've always been surprised that throughout the various nostalgia booms (often driven here as much by American pop culture as actual local elements of the period), we haven't seen more American-style speakeasy-themed venues. The popular Candelight Club has been running events in London for nearly twenty years with a strong line in a loosely 20s theme, though in terms of vintage theme nights WW2 was bigger for a long time (the long running Blitz Party in particular). The CC doesn't advertise its venue; ticket holders are given an address in advance. It's a fun night.

The nearest I experienced to a fixed-premises speakeasy concept, sort-of... was the Soho Secret Tearoom. Located in a room above a Soho pub, you had to know it was there and ask the barman to let you through to the stairs behind the bar to get in. An amusing inversion of the speakeasy concept. Alas, the pub changed hands in 2019, and it lost its venue; I don't believe it reopened thereafter.