Hidden bars are hardly a novelty anymore. Walk into enough cocktail lounges these days and you’ll eventually be asked to slip through a bookshelf, duck behind a freezer door or memorize a password before someone lets you inside.
But back in 2007, when The Thaxton opened beneath downtown St. Louis’ historic Eastman Kodak Building, none of that had become the blueprint. There wasn’t a modern speakeasy playbook yet. Craft cocktails were still finding their footing and “hidden bar” wasn’t a phrase plastered across social media.
The Thaxton simply got there first.
Nearly two decades later, the downtown destination still feels like a genuine discovery, not because it’s trying to be mysterious for the sake of it, but because it actually is.
Finding it is half the adventure.
The entrance is tucked away in an alley off Olive Street, easy enough to miss if you don’t know exactly where you’re headed. From there, guests wind through the historic building, down a series of stairs and into a sprawling basement lounge that seems to reveal itself a little at a time. It’s darker than most bars in town. Low lighting washes over the tables, leaving the cement walls in shadow while vintage furnishings give the room an old-world richness that feels anything but contrived.
Unlike many modern speakeasies that squeeze guests into tiny hidden rooms, The Thaxton opens up once you’re inside. The ceilings are high, the seating is generous and there’s enough space to settle in for an evening instead of rushing through a round or two. It feels exclusive without feeling crowded.
“We are a very chill, very swanky, fully seated downtown underground cocktail lounge,” owner Kimberly Pitliangas said. “The experience is meant to feel as if you have discovered and gained access to a very special and unique space. It feels exclusive, but in truth all with proper etiquette are welcomed.”
That feeling starts long before the cocktails arrive.
The building itself has one of downtown’s more fascinating histories. Constructed in 1927 as a prototype retail store for Eastman Kodak, it was intended to become one of 100 identical buildings across the country before the Great Depression changed those plans. Only five were ever built and the St. Louis location is the lone survivor.
The painstaking restoration of the building began in 2002, preserving original architectural details that now define both the upstairs event venue and the lounge below. While many people know The Thaxton as one of the city’s most beautiful wedding and event spaces, complete with soaring ceilings, dramatic windows and ornate historic details, fewer realize there’s an entirely different experience waiting downstairs.
“When the idea of opening a lounge in the lower level came about, it made sense to play off the history of the building and make it a speakeasy,” Pitliangas said. “Mind you, this was well before the craft cocktail revolution and current speakeasy craze.”
The timing wasn’t accidental. The building opened during Prohibition, when actual speakeasies illegally served alcohol behind closed doors. Long before hidden cocktail bars became fashionable again, The Thaxton embraced that history.
The password remains part of the ritual today, posted weekly on the lounge’s Instagram page in all caps. It isn’t a gimmick so much as a tradition, one that quietly reminds guests they’re about to step into a place that’s remained remarkably consistent while the rest of the cocktail world has chased the next big thing.
That’s been especially true as speakeasies have exploded in popularity over the last decade. New concepts continue to pop up around St. Louis, each putting its own spin on secrecy and surprise. Yet even among that crowded field, The Thaxton remains one of the city’s hardest-to-find destinations, the kind of place you excitedly text to a friend after your first visit because you’re convinced you’ve uncovered something they somehow haven’t.
Ironically, Pitliangas says that’s still true for many locals.
“After 18 years of business in St. Louis, we are still largely undiscovered by locals,” she said. “I am looking to change that.”
Visitors from outside the city, on the other hand, have embraced it for years.
“I am incredibly proud to have contributed to St. Louis tourism for so many years,” Pitliangas said. “I love being a positive representation of our city, providing an exceptional experience to guests and giving them a reason to return.”
It’s also a reminder that downtown St. Louis still rewards curiosity. Beyond the ballgames and major attractions are places like The Thaxton that have quietly built loyal followings for years, tucked behind historic facades and hidden just enough that finding them feels like an accomplishment.
The cocktails are no mere supporting act, and The Thaxton has never been interested in flashy smoke-filled presentations or elaborate bar theatrics. Instead, the focus is on balanced drinks made with thoughtful ingredients.
“We are less about the show of creation than offering a well balanced and thoughtful drink,” Pitliangas said. “We want you to sit back, relax and enjoy the overall sensory experience of the space.”
The Blueberry Sage French 75 has become one of the lounge’s signature cocktails, adding fresh blueberry and sage to the sparkling classic. The Razz Ma Tazz combines gin, raspberry syrup, lemon and bitters with Greek yogurt, an unusual addition that gives the cocktail an unexpectedly silky texture. Its nonalcoholic counterpart, the Razz NO Tazz, delivers the same experience using NA spirits. The Frida Kahlo layers reposado tequila with lime, blackberry, cassis, orange blossom water and jalapeño syrup for a cocktail that’s bright, balanced and just spicy enough.
The menu continues to evolve through collaboration among the staff, who draw inspiration from herbs, spices, produce and lesser-known spirits rather than whatever trend happens to be dominating social media.
“Vintage vibe and superior service always comes first,” Pitliangas said.
Looking ahead, she’s excited to expand the lounge’s temperance menu, which includes both low- and no-ABV cocktails, borrowing language from the Prohibition era while experimenting with ingredients like turmeric and beet powder.
The Thaxton opens to the public Thursday through Saturday when it isn’t reserved for private events, with weekly hours and the current password posted on Instagram.
For a city that now has no shortage of hidden bars, The Thaxton remains refreshingly authentic. It never had to reinvent itself to fit the speakeasy craze because it helped define what that experience could be in the first place.
Sometimes the original is still the one worth searching for.
1009 Olive St., St. Louis, thaxtonspeakeasy.com
This article appears in September 2026.
