A new speakeasy-style bar is coming to Midtown: Keep Quiet STL, an intimate space serving craft cocktails, is slated to open in February.
A collaboration between Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and Little Lager, the bar will be tucked away behind UCBC’s Midtown biergarten’s serving hut, between the main taproom and its event space.
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“It’s hiding just far enough to make you feel like you’re not allowed back there,” says Little Lager owner Manny Negron, the creative mind behind the new concept. “When we’re open, look for the red light.”
Negron, who has collaborated with Urban Chestnut on events and beers since Little Lager’s inception, discovered the space during a Kölsch Night event. “I saw so much potential,” he says.
The name reflects Negron’s struggle to keep the project under wraps. “It’s a reminder to myself not to spill the beans about everything,” he says with a laugh. “I’m terrible at keeping secrets, and it’s been really hard not to tell my friends all about it.”
Keep Quiet STL is designed to offer a completely different experience from the bustling biergarten just steps away. “We’ll act as completely separate entities,” Negron says. “Keep Quiet is a 21-year-old-plus space that mostly serves cocktails. You can’t leave the space with our drinks or enter with UCBC beers.”
The bar will feature limited seating to create a cozy, intimate vibe. While the focus will be on cocktails, there will also be a couple of beer options, including a proprietary brew created by Urban Chestnut. The bar will stay open after Urban Chestnut closes, offering a late-night option.
Launching a cocktail-focused speakeasy within a brewery comes with its own challenges. “Helping people understand that the two bars are separate units, even though they’re cohesive, might take time,” Negron says. “There will probably be some bumps with people asking for cocktails at the taproom or venturing out of the space with their drinks.”
But the collaboration also opens exciting possibilities. “Working with Urban Chestnut has been incredible,” says Negron. “Even though Keep Quiet is a small place, UCBC has endless amenities—a full kitchen for prep, refrigeration, ingredient sourcing, and even laboratories if we want to get really fancy. Why order tonic water or soda when we can make it in-house? And, of course, there’s the whole brewery at our disposal.”
Keep Quiet STL will initially operate on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m.–midnight. Updates will be shared on Instagram at @keepquietstl.
“This space is something special,” Negron says. “It’s intimate, it’s hidden, and it’s bringing something new to Midtown. I think people are going to love it.”
