During Prohibition, the success of speakeasies was due in part to their creative disguises as everyday businesses. The Hardware Store revives that clandestine tradition in Anoka. Come for live jazz, blues, and guitar music and cocktails with modern twists — like the “Mayor Lorraine,” a turquoise elixir of champagne, tequila, and edible glitter.

Descend a tight staircase in a nondescript building in Stillwater, and you’ll enter a dusky room filled with stylish seating and romantic corners. Sneak onto the secret garden patio and enjoy a Prohibition-era classic cocktail, like a Pisco sour topped with ethereal egg whites.

This hidden bar behind Young Joni is just as popular as the award-winning restaurant it’s attached to. Sneak down the alley and look for the red neon light, which indicates if the bar is open. A limited number of patrons are allowed at a time inside, but the wait is worth it — this intimate room, cloaked in dark florals and velvet, feels like your chic grandma’s basement setup. (That is, if your grandma had a 1970s-era reel-to-reel playing in the background.)

Billy After Dark is the clandestine complement to chef Billy Tserentbat’s swanky North Loop sushi restaurant, Billy Sushi. Wander down the alley to the right of the building, and find the back door market with a neon sign. B.A.D. is both sleek and cavernous, the ceiling flecked with L.E.D. stars. Gaze on the collection of fine Japanese whiskies encased in an elegant, back-lit wall display. Billy After Dark has been quite popular since its opening, so it’s best to make a reservation in advance.

Prohibition Bar isn’t exactly hidden, but considering it’s tucked away on the 27th floor of the Foshay Tower, it has some of the hush-hush feel of a classic speakeasy. Try a vintage cocktail like the “Jackie Diamond,” made with Keeper’s Heart Irish-American whiskey, cherry bark bitters, and orange peel, and poured into a smoked glass. The bar — the entire Foshay Tower, actually — drips with the ornamental charm of the 1920s and 1930s.

Bronto Bar took the place of Sooki & Mimi’s subterranean Basement Bar in 2023, becoming, in a short time, just as popular for its shochu sours, Shin Ramyun fries, and music bouncing from the stereos behind the bar. Korean influences (the restaurant is part of Ann Kim’s hospitality group) permeate the menu, where drinks like a Gibson get kicked up with ribbons of dongchimi and pine soju. Crispy-edged smash burgers and homemade spam sandwiches are there to soak it all up, too.

In a stroke of true brilliance, L2 @ Tii Cup has brought boba cocktails to Uptown. Duck into the former Saint Sabrina tattoo parlor space: On the first floor, there’s a snug restaurant serving Taiwanese street food (think popcorn chicken, grilled prawns, noodles bowls, etc.), while upstairs, there’s a speakeasy-style bar pouring dragonfruit mojitos, bloody mango margaritas, and creamy ube cocktails, finishing them with sweet, chewy boba. Even better, there’s a sunny upstairs patio overlooking Hennepin Avenue.

In the back of Chanhassen’s Tequila Butcher in Chanhassen, look for a hallway with an old-fashioned phone booth. Pass through the dark curtains and step back in time to a place where last century’s roaring 20’s are still roaring. Choose from over 500 whiskeys, including rare pours concealed in a “Members Only” wall safe.