Thursday, March 28, 2024

We drink in secret: Toledo’s first (legal) speakeasy

To put it politely, Toledo has an obsession with the past. But we don’t mourn our prior successes, we look back to turn hindsight into foresight.

When we want to improve the community, we reflect on the successful progressive reforms made at the turn of the century by the late mayor, Samuel M. “Golden Rule” Jones. When we want to develop the downtown, we imagine of the bustling streets of the 1930s and 40s. When we want to celebrate our art history, we commemorate the artists who birthed the American Studio Glass movement in the early 60s at the Toledo Museum of Art.

So, when we want to drink, one local group is suggesting that we should remember the bootleggers, mobsters, moonshiners, and the subversive entertainers that populated the Glass City’s Prohibition-era saloons and speakeasies. See how past is made perfect (not to mention, 100% legal) at the Stage Door’s first Speakeasy on Friday, May 4.

Confidentially dubbed as a “beta test of a potential series” by a secretive event organizer, the Stage Door is a group that wants to offer something new and fun for 21st-century Toledoans. The first speakeasy event will offer a limited number of guests a retro evening of entertainment, conversation, and, of course, booze. Sip a flight of five locally-crafted cocktails specially made for this pop-up event by Toledo Spirits, the 419’s favorite and only (at least, we think— contact us if we’re wrong) distillery.

Ready to make the old new again? Act fast. Only a few of the limited number of tickets remain.

Ages 21+ only.
$40 ($42.39 with service fee). stagedoorspeakeasy.brownpapertickets.com
The location has not been announced to the general public. You must purchase a ticket to learn the venue and the password for entrance

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