A brand new cocktail bar now promises to take you back to the era that saw the rise of jazz, illicit liquor and flapper girls.
Flapper Lounge, a prohibition era speakeasy nestled within the Metro Hall, opened its doors to the public a week ago — seating no more than 30 in its intimate space.
Sporting an art deco-style interior, large monochrome photographs of flapper girls on its walls and a life-size mannequin in flapper-era garb right at the entrance, the bar seems stuck in the 1920s — and for a reason.
The early ‘20s had seen a ban on the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor in North America, which in turn spawned secret hooch spots (otherwise known as speakeasies). The era also saw the birth of a fledgling feminist movement that had women break away from the archaic rules around the Victorian era, choosing to be bold instead of demure, as per Linda Croasdale, owner of the lounge.
For Croasdale, who is always looking for ways to empower women, zeroing in on a theme for her cocktail bar was easy. When she researched speakeasies, she found that there were many male-centric ones — “with gangsters, heavier colours, smoking bars, and featuring a lot of really spirit-forward drinks.”
But none that celebrated the strong empowered women of that era, she noticed.
And so, Croasdale decided to focus her speakeasy on the flapper girls, who are less spoken about.
These women, she said, rebelled against the society’s expectations of what a woman should be — as someone who does what she is told to do.
“They came out saying, ‘We are gonna make some changes. We are gonna go out there and drink whiskey, we are gonna drink gin, we are gonna wear skirts above our knees and we are gonna smoke cigars and we are gonna kiss boys — which ultimately led to ‘We are gonna vote’,” she said.
These flapper girls include the popular Hollywood actresses Norma Talmage and Colleen Moore, “queen of the jazz age” Gilda Ray, “queen of the Charleston and banana dance" Josephine Baker, and others, as listed on the Flapper Lounge website.
Visitors have been lapping up the concept, said Croasdale. Ever since the space opened, it has been seeing a good turnout of people wanting to soak in the 1920s vibe with a bramble (a gin-based cocktail with raspberry liquor), pomegranate ginger bourbon and spicy pineapple margarita, while snacking on dishes named Hotsy Totsy poutine and In your Kisser shrimp cocktail.
But what pushed Croasdale to squeeze in a cocktail bar in a building that is primarily a wedding banquet hall?
The COVID struggle
Flapper Lounge was born out of the COVID survival pivot, said Croasdale.
When the Metro Hall had to temporarily close during COVID, Croasdale and team looked for ways to stay afloat. They used the time to apply for a liquor license and get approval for a small kitchen on site.
The original plan, as per Croasdale, was to have a supper club upstairs. The idea evolved into setting up a speakeasy instead.
But Croasdale didn’t just want a speakeasy, she wanted a “cool” one.
On reading up about flapper girls, the idea of bringing the stories of these trailblazing women from the past hit a chord with Croasdale.
“I'm actually a survivor of female domestic violence and sexual assault. During that time frame (of setting up the bar), I was going through the court systems fighting my own legal case, both criminally and civilly. I hear stories on a regular basis from women talking about how difficult it is to report, tell their story, and to get their voice.”
And the current court system doesn’t make it easy for them, she said.
“Back in 2018, there was a little bit of a policy change whereby new judges who were in the court system were required to get educated on things like rape myths, rape culture and sexual assault. However, if they were holding a seat on the bench, they had no requirements to be educated; same with Crown counsel, there's very limited education.”
“Because of these things, there are horror stories from just woman after woman about the experiences that they are having when they're going through the court system,” she said.
While there are provinces in Canada where a precedent has been set to not rely on archaic rape myths, said Croasdale, B.C. is not one of them.
"Our judges and our Crown counsel absolutely need to get educated on things like rape myths and how that is applied in the court system,” said Croasdale, who thinks this would be a step towards encouraging women to come forward and report.
The new lounge, while offering a spot for night outs and afterwork-soirees, will also raise funds to fight for policy change.
A portion of the proceeds from the drinks served at the lounge will go into supporting the cause. The Metro banquet hall will hold two fundraisers a year with the objective of raising funds towards getting the right public relations professionals to fight for this change.
Together, the businesses will fight for a cause that Croasdale believes in.
Just like the flapper girls did a century ago.
Flapper Lounge is located on the ground floor of the Metro Hall (759 Carnarvon St.). Reservations have to be made on their website as that’s the only way to get the password — a strict requirement to enter. There is no phone number, customers are requested to knock on a red door on arrival. The lounge doesn’t have a set schedule and will be closed on days when a couple is getting married in the hall.
