After the modern 'speakeasy,' what's next?

During Prohibition, a "speakeasy" was the term for an illicit drinking establishment where you were among like-minded people and didn't have to worry about being busted by the cops or federal alcohol agents.

Somehow, the term was appropriated several years ago to refer to a cocktail lounge with a certain vibe -- usually dark, often with lots of heavy wood, sometimes with a hidden entrance, maybe a secret password, often with no exterior signage.

In most places, that fad has pretty much run its course. So, the obvious question is, what's next?

Here's a very interesting article published earlier this year on what's next in the design of hip bars and cocktail lounges. (Thanks to George Fiorini of the Savoy Taproom in Albany for spotting it.)

---