Another Johnson County speakeasy on the way. Anagram gives a clue
.jpg "The Verdant Promise is one of the cocktails available at The Dressing Room, inside Heddi Monro.")
Heddi Monro will look like, smell like, feel like any other boutique.
Owners Christa Johnson and Meghan Dudek plan to fill it with pants, shirts, shoes. Quality brands like Gordon Jewelers, Favorite Daughter, Liverpool, Bayeas and more.
But Heddi has a secret, and its name is its biggest clue.
The words “Heddi Monro” are an anagram. Unscramble them, and they spell “hidden room.” Customers who venture through a dressing room door and answer a trivia question will unlock the second part of Heddi Monro: a speakeasy called The Dressing Room.
The concept, just over 3,000 square feet, will open this spring underneath downtown Overland Park’s InterUrban Lofts at 7900 Conser St.
Both Heddi Monro and its underside aim to celebrate womanhood.
“We’re really looking to uplift boss babes, and that’s kind of the demographic we’re shooting for,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to do things a little different and really celebrate women in power.
”To accomplish this, house cocktails at The Dressing Room feature products from female-owned, -distilled or -run brands like Mean Mule Distilling Co., Cafe Corazon, Restless Spirits, Bootleg Bourbon Balls, Annx Spirits Co. and more.
“We just really wanted to highlight those types of things on our speakeasy side,” Johnson said. “I think there’s more women (in the industry) than people realize.”
The boutique side will carry plenty of women-owned clothing brands, too.
One of the bar’s cocktails is the Verdant Promise, a drink with green tea-infused with Builders Heritage Dry Gin by Restless Spirits, lime cordial and a thyme sprig. The Lady Bird is a blackberry-infused whiskey with simple syrup, lemon and egg white.
They plan to have some light snacks on the menu, like charcuterie and a signature cheesecake.
The atmosphere leans feminine. It has plums, creams, jewel tones and leathers. Dudek is an interior designer by trade — “I cannot tell you how gorgeous she is making this space,” Johnson said.
That said, Johnson wants customers to know that everyone is welcome at the bar.
“Men are welcome, we’re just not a pickup joint,” she said.
Speakeasies are popping up around the Kansas City metro, especially in Johnson County.
In the former Buffalo State Pizza space (the pizza restaurant moved across the street) the owner of Scratch Gourmet Kitchen will open a restaurant called Telia with a speakeasy/lounge called Night Owl underneath it.
Earlier this year, The Blacklist opened in Leawood’s Mission Farms. Half of the bar is hidden behind a bookcase at 10519 Mission Road.