New late-night bar opens in Old Town Clovis. It’s a speakeasy with tableside cocktails
A new speakeasy coming to Old Town Clovis is reviving the covert spirit of the 1920s Prohibition era, when Central Valley farmers gathered in secret to enjoy a drink after a long day’s work.
The Farmer and The Bootlegger opened Friday at 400 Clovis Ave, Suite 107, in the same commercial building as the popular DiCicco’s and Cork & Knife eateries.
Operated by the San Diego-based Grand Restaurant Group, director of operations Derry Van Nortwick says the concept is inspired by a 1920s Fresno newspaper clipping. It’s a nod to local farmers who worked the land by day and slipped into hidden rooms after dark to share a drink during the prohibition era.
“I want it to be a place that’s always keeping you guessing,” Van Nortwick said. “Its identity will be created by the people who frequent it.”
What’s on the menu at The Farmer and The Bootlegger?
Van Nortwick wants the speakeasy to become a place where people can connect and have an elevated cocktail experience — “ a place for people to put the cell phones down. Where people can talk to each other, meet new people.”
The Farmer and The Bootlegger offers three tableside-made cocktails.
The cocktail menu will include plays on classics from the 1920s era.
“So it could be a standard drink, but it’ll be done in a more interesting way,” Van Nortwick said. “There’ll be some pizzazz to them.”
Whiskey flights, wine and small bites will also be available.
The Grand Restaurant Group also operates the next-door restaurants DiCicco’s and Cork & Knife. Items from the small bites food menu will be made in those neighboring kitchens, including a cheese board, honey-bourbon-glazed meatballs, crispy artichoke hearts and more.
Speakeasy inspired by 1920s newspaper clipping
The concept of the late-night joint was inspired by a clipping involving a smuggling ring of booze built on a network of farmers and bootleggers, Van Nortwick said. Thus, the name The Farmer and The Bootlegger was born.
The story goes that when the United States banned alcohol, a local farmer and bootlegger struck a deal to keep the party going.
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The farmer used his barns and back roads to stash barrels of alcohol, while the bootlegger traded secrets, dodged checkpoints and kept the town’s glasses full.
“Each cocktail is a tribute to those who kept spirits alive when the law said otherwise,” a Grand Restaurant Group news release said.
The Farmer and The Bootlegger will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 6 p.m. to midnight. Reservations are encouraged and can be made on the speakeasy’s website. The site will also double as an event space Sundays through Tuesdays.
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