Downtown bar revamps, reopens speakeasy

Aug. 7, 2020

4562.

Those four digits are key to getting into the revamped speakeasy that opens tonight at Lucky’s Bar.

The downtown business created the hidden bar in its lower level about five years ago, and “we opened pretty regularly for a while, and then it was just open on St. Patrick’s Day,” manager Em Nguyen said. “We decided to revamp the space and reopen it.”

Now, Lucky’s Speakeasy will have its own cocktail menu, using higher-end brands such as Ketel One vodka and Jack Daniels whiskey, Nguyen said.

Many of the choices will be traditional speakeasy classics such as an Old-Fashioned, Manhattan and Lynchburg Lemonade, she said, but there also will be “some items that would be refreshing, more current today like mojitos and gimlets.”

The cocktail menu likely will change a couple of times a year, she said.

“Before, the speakeasy almost turned into an overflow space. We had the same alcohol upstairs and downstairs. We just sent people down there to help with the volume. … Now, we want them to go there as a destination.”

Lucky’s removed a lot of the tables and brought in more couches, Nguyen said. The room can hold 70 people.

There are dozens of board games.

“We wanted it to be a place where you can chill, a nice ambiance, hang out with your friends and play a couple of board games, just a nice place to meet.”

It will be open from 8 p.m. to close Fridays and Saturdays. Hours likely will expand to Thursdays in the fall, and Nguyen envisions having open mic or trivia nights.

The code to get into the speakeasy will be posted on social media and probably will change about once a month, she said.

“And then, down the road, we will make it harder to get in.”

For now, the trickiest part will be figuring out which door in the lower level, which is filled with pool tables, is the entry to the speakeasy, she said.

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Downtown bar revamps, reopens speakeasy

While getting in won’t be as hard as it could be, the revamped speakeasy at Lucky’s Bar will offer a hidden getaway with traditional cocktails and a few more modern offerings.

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