pro·hi·bi·tion
/ˌprō(h)əˈbiSH(ə)n
noun
- 1.
the action of forbidding something, especially by law.
It may have been forbidden in the USA to manufacture and sell alcohol during the 13 years of The Prohibition, but it by sure wasn’t forbidden in the eyes of the people of DTLA. From 1920-1933 the people of DTLA did everything they could to stay inebriated leading to the creation of DTLA’s first underground speakeasy.
While the law busted barrels and carted off so called “criminals”, many got away with drinking until dawn only to emerge from the depths of the city, followed closely by their own personal panhandling escorts.
Back in the day, the speakeasy took many forms ranging from taverns with spiked drinks and secret cocktail menus to private rooms hidden behind book shelves, passwords and what ever else the mind could concoct. Some patrons even played piano keys to open trap doors to these underground night clubs or followed sub level caverns (like the one in the basement of the King Eddy Saloon), to carved out venues beneath the city’s streets like the one you can still find under the intersection of 5th and Main.
Shhhhh, “Speakeasy”
Flash forward to present day as we celebrate Dec 5, aka Repeal Day, which marked the end of prohibition. One hundred years later it’s been proven, we loved bootlegging so much, you’ll still find DTLA bar owners willing to emulate the nostalgic mystique of the Downtown Speakeasies of yesteryear.
Of this breed two top names come to mind; Andrew Meieran and Cedd Moses, or IndiAndrew Jones and Uncle Cedd Mo, as we like to call them.
If these two time traveler’s names aren’t familiar, it is with great pleasure that we are able to introduce them.
It’s because of them in large that Downtown has gown so rapidly. Their amazing vision and commitment to preserving Downtown’s past is what helped actually launch Downtown into the future.
Andrew Meieran is the owner of Cliftons Cafeteria (1935) and the Edison Lounge, which used to be the old flooded steam room of the Higgins Building (1910) on 2nd and Main.
Cedd Moses’ Pouring with Heart, (formally known as 213 Hospitality Group) is practically the owner of everything else especially when it comes to retro bars including the Varnish, The Golden Gopher (1905), Seventh Grand, Casey’s and a long list of others you can easily find on the web.
Their appreciation of the past took form in the shape of some of Downtown’s most popular retro bars all with a whole new set of regulations. Amendment #1 – drink and be merry.
You can always tell you’re in a Cedd Mo bar by the wooden and brass decor, mounted whiskeys and venison heads, hunting paraphernalia, old fashion fixtures and by the drink menu..
The classics and mobster favorites will be showcased before anything else thanks to Cedd Mo; the Cosmo, Manhattan, Martini, the Negroni and of course the Old Fashion.
Cedd Mo also has a passion for French Dip Sandwiches and craft beers, owning two of DTLA’s original French Dip sandwich shops, Coles (1908) and Philippe’s The Original (1908), and topping off his legacy with his own batch of brews at the Arts District Brewery and Imperial Western at Union Station (1939).
Uncle Cedd Mo also seems to like whisky more than any other human being in existence. And we love him for it.
With Andrew, you’ll find genuine Edison Lights, vintage relics of the old days kept up or restored to their original glory. These artifacts are collected by the adventuring archeologist/ filmmaker from all over the world. Some relics may be touched while others are placed safe behind glass, velvet ropes, or situated high out of reach.
Such is the case with Clifton’s Cafeteria’s Cabin of Curiosities loaded with unobtainable taxidermy fetishes from the Natural History Museum vs. the antique meteorite at the Gothic Bar which we suggest everyone rub for good luck when they get a chance.
He’s also built a modern day Speakeasy on the third floor of Clifton’s hidden behind a mirrored door. Careful, first timers and unsuspecting guests will easily walk by or take the chance to admire themselves before pushing the mirrored door that reveals the staircase to the upstairs Tiki Bar. In homage to the Clifford Clifton’s I’ll fated Hollywood Night club the Pacific Seas, this Tiki Bar speakeasy features a whole new class of drinks to match its island-themed-room filled with even more of IndieAndrew’s vintage collectables.
Oh, and with IndiAndrew, there will always be well dressed gents, big bands, flappers, burlesque performances and the music that drives them to shake their shimmies.
Cedd Mo is all about the blues, but also features live jazz and swing on a weekly basis. Cedd Mo’s hidden rooms include the laid back Varnish inside of Cole’s (which was an actually a real speakeasy 100 years ago), the Slipper Clutch hidden in the back of Bar Clacson and the Jackalope Bar hidden behind the stage at Seventh Grand.
While both owners have a thing for the past.
Andrew seems more into restoration while Cedd Mo seems more into replication. Take the old missing iron clock from Cedd Mo’s Imperial Western at Union Station, once used to remind visitors of arrivals and departures. When the original clock was stolen, Uncle Cedd Mo had one made while the entire facade of Clifton’s was recently uncovered with painstaking work and restored by IndiAndrew Jones.
They do have other aspects in common… Both bar owners have bartending fashion mandates and costumed staff; The old fashioned bow tie, arm garters to keep their sleeves from falling, vest and suspenders to hold up thier slacks is the look. Cedd seems to love a good early century 19th mustache but you’ll even find a fairy at the Andrew’s Edison Lounge. Be careful with her. She’s cute but she’s dealing Absinthe, known in the 19th century as “witches brew”.
Sure, during prohibition Downtown revolted but we’ve come a long way since then and we don’t have to hide our drinking habits anymore. If today’s Downtown Hospitality scene had a constitution Cedd Moses and Andrew Meieran would be our founding fathers. They were the first bar owners to lay down the laws about drinking that DTLA gladly obeyed.
Cheers to you Cedd Moses and Andrew Meieran. Cheers to you.
