SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Here’s a secret you won’t want to keep from your friends… there’s as underground cocktail lounge with a 'speakeasy atmosphere’ that’s opening very soon in the Valley!
Starting May 18, Tell Your Friends hopes to stir up the cocktail scene in Scottsdale. The new venue will have 52 seats and promises unique drinks, live music and more.
The speakeasy will be located underneath The Americano [17797 N Scottsdale Rd] and will be “accessed through a nondescript side door.”
“When you enter, there's going to be kind of a holding area where you'll get greeted by the hostess […] and then what's [going to] end up happening is we'll open these kinds of drapes up and you'll be introduced to the space for the first time,” said Keifer Gilbert, Valley bartender behind the Cocktail Program at Tell Your Friends, in a previous interview with ABC15.
Valley Chef Beau MacMillan will lead the small-bites menu for the location; guests will have the ability to order from the dining menu of The Americano, too.
COCKTAILS
Here’s what Gilbert shared with ABC15 about the speakeasy.
According to Gilbert, the speakeasy will have “somewhere between 15 and 25 cocktails” and there are two sides, distinct sides to the menu.
“There will be a classic section that I think will be nice and introductory for people. And the reason that we went that route is - gaining trust of the public as we are a new concept opening in a part of town that doesn't have the [richest] cocktail culture. So having those drinks where it's like an old fashioned, a Manhattan, a bee's knees of French 75, things that are familiar to people and even somewhat nostalgic, sometimes being able to offer that experience and then also being able to switch over to kind of where my expertise came in a little bit more of the crafty mixology side of everything,” said Gilbert in a previous interview with ABC15. “You'll start seeing a lot of, you know, fresh produce being used, fresh citrus, lots of different styles of drinks, some different preparation techniques and just kind of using some of the culinary backgrounds that I've been able to grab [from] people that I've worked with over the years, and use that to manufacture ingredients or infuse spirits or make a syrup to give our drinks that really unique feel.”
THE VIBE
“Because we are underneath a restaurant, I think people are going to be very caught off guard by how high the ceilings are. So, it's this really cool space. And the build-out has this crazy like Rat Pack, kind of New York City vibe to it with the way that they went with the build, think like rich red colors for a lot of the décor, banquettes-kind of lighting the room, the stage is set right in the middle,” shared Gilbert with ABC15. “Then you're going to have the bar is kind of the centerpiece of the room and there'll be lighting fixtures that come out from behind the bar that arch over into the dining area and [it's] an absolutely beautiful space.”
More than just drinks, and bites… the Tell Your Friends will have nightly entertainment.
“One of the things that I don't want to leave out is it is a live music venue. So, there's, there's going to be a jazz band playing every night. […] Even if you know, the food and drink and all that stuff, maybe necessarily isn't like your cup of tea or anything like that, we'll have a very diverse offering behind that bar,” said Gilbert. “There are not very many places that have live entertainment on a nightly basis anymore. So, I think they did a great job identifying that gap in the market.”
You can make a reservation by visiting their website tellyourfriendsaz.com
The video in the player above showcases the best things to do in the Valley this April. Read more about it right here.
