New Society (3194 S. Grand) has no signage that marks its presence. There’s no phone number to call for directions, no website from which to glean any information about its offerings, and nothing more than a cryptic Instagram page with a link to Tock’s reservation platform that gives you any inkling the bar actually exists. Which is exactly the way that Meredith Barry and Michael Fricker want to keep it.
“We want people to come in with a blank slate,” Fricker says of the new bar, which opened April 28. ”When people don’t have preconceived notions of what a place is supposed to be, they are much more open to the experience.”
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Barry and Fricker are positioning New Society to be a bar like no other currently in the St. Louis food and beverage landscape. Billed as an experimental cocktail lounge hidden within South Grand natural wine bar Grand Spirits, New Society is the brainchild of these industry veterans, who see the hidden bar as both a creative outlet and a way to push patrons out of traditional conventions of what can be done through the cocktail form. Although the pair aim to keep New Society shrouded in mystery for as long as possible, they offered an exclusive sneak peek of what to expect as word begins to trickle out.
The Scene
Barry and Fricker are tight-lipped about anything relating to the menu and atmosphere at New Society in the hopes that guests will be completely surprised and transported when they arrive. Adding to this mystery, they do not want anyone to discuss where the exact door is that leads to New Society is located within Grand Spirits, only teasing that patrons will have to come in and ask before they are whisked away.
What they will allow, however, is a discussion of the vibe they have created: a scene which is best described as dark, intimate, and moody, illuminated solely by a handful of ornate tabletop lamps and candleholders. Black leather couches, dark floral print chairs and low, oval-shaped tables provide seating in the lounge area, and a small bar, with room for roughly eight guests, serves as a sort of chef’s table, where patrons can watch Barry and Fricker in action.
Although New Society is currently open most Fridays and Saturdays, Barry and Fricker note that the hours are intentionally sporadic, “as a traditional speakeasy would be,” Barry says. Still, the next couple of months are sketched out on Tock: Reservations are required until 10 p.m.; after that, the bar welcomes walk-ins until close, which is approximately 12:15 a.m.
In being so mysterious about the surroundings, offerings, and even hours, Barry and Fricker hope to set a mood that allows their guests to step outside themselves, even if just for a moment, to decompress in an environment that helps them relinquish control and surrender to a journey these two accomplished cocktail pros are eager to help facilitate.
“We want to create an environment where people are more open to the experience,” Barry says. “You work so hard; when you got out, we would hope that you could soak in that experience and take that time for yourself to be treated and experience something different.”
The Menu
Like the atmosphere, Barry and Fricker are hoping to keep the menu a surprise to guests. They offer, however, that they have taken a culinary approach to their cocktails, making as much in house and using the best possible ingredients to create their innovative libations. These are presented not as a simple drink list but as a booklet filled with poetry and sketches, alongside cocktail selections that include their own unique creations (employing everything from puffed rice, savory gummies, peas and carrots) to their own takes on classic cocktails, such as the Old Fashioned and a world-class daiquiri that, shockingly, does not employ lime.
Guests are also able to select from a small menus of noshes—think chips and dip. For more substantial offerings, they point people to their main level sandwich shop, Grand Sammies & Sides, which serves up such offerings as a meatball sub, Italian grinder, and chicken salad sandwich.
“We want to be as inclusive as we can possibly be, and that includes what people are going to drink,” Fricker says. “People should not feel scared to come in. They might get something that is a little different, but they will also get the classics that we have our own versions of. It will all make sense.”
The Background
As Fricker explains, he and Barry—friends who’ve made their names at area bars including the Gin Room and Platypus, respectively—have been talking about collaborating on a modern, experimental speakeasy-style concept for some time now. Over time, those conversations coalesced into a shared vision of an intimate format in which they could let their creativity run wild and take their guests on a journey that would help them relinquish control and embrace the unexpected. Although they looked all over town for the perfect venue to bring such a vision to life, they eventually realized that they had such a place in the basement of Grand Spirits, a room that Fricker had originally considered turning into a wine cellar when he took over the space in 2021.
The small format and experimental nature of New Society will give Barry and Fricker the chance to showcase the depth of their talents. Barry, a longtime bartender who moved to St. Louis from Chicago to help open the Angad Arts Hotel in 2018, has made a name for herself in town after working for Niche Food Group and Platypus, the bar that she opened with fellow bartender extraordinaire Tony Saputo in November 2021; recently, she received national attention for her run on the Netflix bartending competition Drink Masters. Fricker is equally accomplished, having left a successful culinary career that took him from New Jersey to Oaxaca before embracing his passion for cocktails alongside his wife, Natasha Bahrami, at their James Beard Award–nominated bar The Gin Room.
“For me—and I think I can speak for Meredith—this is the culmination of what we have always wanted to do,” Fricker says. “Eighteen seats, ridiculously high technique where it feels like this is a kitchen,” Fricker says. “We spend more time in the kitchen working than we do behind the bar, and we are utilizing techniques that high-end kitchens utilize. Every cocktail has clarifications, sous viding—the list goes on and on. For me, this was a natural progression.”
