Trends

Globe Turns Trend-Spotting Eagle Eye to Speakeasies

Photo: Prohibited

Following in the footsteps of such au courant trend pieces as “Men can be vegans, too!”, “Chefs love pork belly!” and “Taverns are popular in Boston!”, the Globe is working on a story about Boston’s “speakeasy-style” clubs, reports Universal Hub.

The hilarious query, cribbed from sourcing site Help A Reporter Online by Universal Hub: “Writing a story about the rise of private, speak-easy style clubs in Boston, and I’m wondering why these are coming back into vogue now? (The new great depression?). Is this a Boston-only phenom? And also why there is a renaissance of these old-timey clubs and drinks occurring now.”

Oh, let’s break this down, shall we? First off, it’s unclear what, exactly, the reporter in question is talking about. Several UH commenters seem to think it’s the city’s after-hours clubs like now-defunct Back Bay spot The Loft and Park Square’s Rise, but given the term “speakeasy-style”, it’s more likely about faux secret clubs like the password-requiring Prohibited below Symphony 8, Stoddard’s Fine Food & Ale’s Friday Club, and the speakeasy-esque lounge at Ken Kelly’s forthcoming Davis Square spot. Either way, this isn’t exactly up-to-the-minute news.

Second, as an astute UH commenter pointed out, speakeasies were the result of Prohibition, not the Great Depression. Finally, our favorite quote from the query: “Is this a Boston-only phenom?” Is this a serious question? Faux speakeasies are so outlandishly popular in New York that our colleague Daniel Maurer coined the term speakcheesies to deal with them and they’re all over the place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and countless other cities. Given the Globe’s outstanding track record, we look forward to 2014’s story about that crazy new fro-yo trend.

Boston - Speakeasy Central? [Universal Hub]

Globe Turns Trend-Spotting Eagle Eye to Speakeasies