SPEAKEASY SHHHHH….the password is ‘Buttercup Babies’ TO ME

Exploring the profit potential of covert cocktails SAY WHAT?

My fiancee and I had been scouring south Florida for weeks to find a classy, unique date night experience away from the madness of spring breakers in town. Eventually, we caught a social media influencer boasting about the incredible food and unforgettable drinks at Room 901. It was just down the street, and I, being a professional foodie, wondered how I had never heard of it.

Our special date had to be reserved a few months out, as the venue only accommodates two couples at a time. I put on my best suit, she put on her best dress, and we followed the address to a nearby hotel.

I straightened my jacket, fixed my tie, and took a powerful stride to the front desk.

Front Desk Associate: “Hi, how can we help you?”

Me: “Hello. Buttercup Babies.”

Front Desk Associate: “Right this way!”

Room 901 was a speakeasy!

A secret room to eat and drink, a heightened experience. We were guided to hotel room 901, covered in black drapes, Great Gatsby-esque decor, mood lighting, and jazzy-jukebox-style music.

A single bartender in a Roaring ‘20s style robe and curled mustache put on a show of crafting incredible cocktails to match our tastes while we enjoyed small plates of jaw-dropping food unique from the menu downstairs. We forgot about the outside world or that we were in a hotel room. We had it all to ourselves, and afterward, we told everyone we could.

This opened up a can of worms that led us to speakeasies in every city we visited, in all sorts of establishments. Many were behind unremarkable storage doors; one was in the backroom of a barbershop. We usually looked silly running around various businesses, pulling on locked doors to find the right entrance!

One thing that remained the same in each of our secret venues was an incredible combination of mixology, plating, sound, and lighting to give you that secret high-society feeling, separate from and above the public domain. It’s a feeling that people are willing to pay a premium for.

The primary form of marketing speakeasies is using social media influencers and word of mouth. Word of exclusive experiences spreads quickly. Going to Vegas? The Cosmopolitan has three speakeasies hidden within; no room necessary. Can you find them? Try looking into a haircut!

SAY WHEN?

Speakeasies are a byproduct of one of the darkest times in American history, the Prohibition Era. When alcohol was banned in 1920, people needed a place to relax out of the eyes of the law. Speakeasies were secret bars, traditionally in basements, cellars, attics, and storage rooms, that illegally sold alcohol. The name comes from the fact that you’ve usually got to whisper a password to enter and not let the law catch on.

Since speakeasies were already illegal and very noquestions-asked, they didn’t follow many social rules of the time. They were some of the first businesses to integrate and left behind the concept that women shouldn’t be prancing around bars but working on home and family life instead. This led to their widespread popularity, an explosion in jazz music (since the black community was more welcome to play), and normalized women grabbing drinks or even dancing at the bar.

SAY WHY?

Bowling centers often have extra rooms for parties and events, but how often are those booked up? Renovating a small, unused room to a speakeasy can be a great way to build new traffic, and you don’t need to run it all the time. Speakeasies are often pop-ups, meaning they come and go, adding to the exclusivity of entry and not adding a ton of work to the owner. For example, having a speakeasy only available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is a great way to increase mid-week traffic.

Anything unique is going to come with a premium, of course. The food menu is often minimal and completely unique from the rest of the business. The often-complex cocktails rely on master mixologists who use unique ingredients to craft their specialties. You can charge substantially more for everything available through the speakeasy and only run it when needed, adding more profit and diversity to your revenue streams.

All you need to do is dress up the room, dim the lights, and turn up the jazz! So, what’s the password?