Southside Speakeasy — Restaurant in Salem

Nestled deep within the Fairview industrial park there is a secret. A hidden gem. It’s the Speakeasy.

This club is under new ownership and Raed (the New Owner) is working hard to bring new entertainment and some exciting events throughout the week!

I found the Speakeasy through their Facebook page and decided to visit on 4-23-24 a Tuesday which means free pool! It’s good to see that over the decades of not playing pool that I really still suck at pool. Good thing for free pool Tuesday now I have a place to practice.

I had the opportunity to meet 2 of the key players during my visit. Rachael is about the hardest working Hostess I have ever seen bouncing from place to place with smiles the whole way. Through a hiccup in the kitchen a duplicate order was made and Rachael asked me if I had eaten yet. I declined as I had but I was touched by it all the same.

Raed (the new owner) is very passionate about the club. He took me on a tour of his vision, and I got to say I really do think that his vision will transform the Speakeasy into a premier night club!

I’m not at liberty to say what surprises Lee has in store but I am excited!

If you’re looking for a nice laid back place to unwind you have found it.

I for one look forward to sampling the events and developments.

Glad I stopped in

UPDATE. 5-30-24.

I went back here on a Thursday for the thirsty Thursday event and had such a good time on little cash because Thursdays are two for one on drinks. Lots...

I was in there last week. I ordered 3 drinks, only one of them was made correctly. First it was a mai tai, I was given rum and old, dark pineapple juice. Then I tried a piña colada. They didn't have a blender but I was just fine with that, I don't like blended drinks. The first time I ordered it, she made it perfectly and even gave me an extra cherry. But the second time, the guy just poured the 6 or 7 different ingredients in the glass with ice and put it in front of me, without mixing anything (piña colada should be shaken if a blender isn't available). He had done that to every drink he made, no mixing. My friends and I made a mess at our table and had to use up a bunch of napkins because we had to mix our own drinks in full glasses and a lot was spilled. The food took longer than I expected for a bar and it was semi decent. For the atmosphere, my friends and I were the only patrons there under 25, everyone else looked to be in their late 40s to early 60s. There was a large group of them that pushed tables together on the dance floor and sat down to eat so maybe that's why the kitchen was busy. If that's the case, I would've preferred the bartenders mention that there would be a long wait for food. Not everyone wants to be at the bar for a while, I had a deadline for getting out of there and I couldn't finish the food I ordered. I had to leave later than I wanted just to eat a little bit, thankfully my friends finished the rest so it didn't...

So been coming here off and on since I moved here in late 2022, I was told the original owners sold to some younger couple and to expect changes. After seeing time go by and the after party for the Pride Block party yesterday, I'm giving up on this place. They haven't made a lot of changes and the ones that I have noticed aren't great, it's less a safe zone for my fellow ace and trans masc from my experience, I've had Lesbian friends complain it feels exclusionary given they don't even have any lesbian pride flags but have the rest including pup even. The bathrooms are on sniffies so don't bother pissing if you wanna be left alone, the leather nights rarely ever have actual instructors and show people how to do stuff like an actual class and I can tell a lot of newer folk are too shy to ask stuff. Idk what the new owners are doing but aside from the staff this place is just not worth it anymore. If you want a more inclusive space id suggest just go to Night Deposit which is owned by a Lesbian and very queer safe, along with having better quality drinks and food, great dance floor, and a lot better week night specials. If I hear from folk that there's been a lot of changes and it's gotten better id love to change my mind, but so far ik too many queers that don't feel comfortable going anymore...