New speakeasy bar opens in Nob Hill

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A new bar has opened in Nob Hill and is offering a throwback you don’t have to keep quiet about.

Teddy Roe’s speakeasy bar, at 3222 1/2 Central Ave SE, opened in late July. The reservation-only bar features drinks and an ambiance that are a throwback to private speakeasy bars during Prohibition-era Chicago.

“Speakeasies really started popping up during the prohibition era, so right in 1920 when booze became illegal, bootlegging was very big and very popular,” said Arcy Law, the co-owner and a bartender at Teddy Roe’s. “Gins, rums and all that nature were being shipped over. I mean Al Capone himself was one of the most famous bootleggers so we went with that kind of a vibe. In the name actually it’s from Chicago gangster.”

Teddy Roe is the name of an African-American organized crime figure who had an illegal gambling empire in South Side, Chicago during the 1940s and ’50s. Roe was known for his philanthropy among the poor citizens of the South Side, even to where he would walk the streets of poor black neighborhoods and hand out fifty-dollar bills.

The namesake bar is able to accommodate 35 people to serve up cocktails and small plates in its 1,000-square-foot space.

“I feel like people really love that speakeasy theme and just being transported somewhere,” said Jessica O’Brien, a bartender and partner at Teddy Roe’s. “The exclusivity of it so if you don’t know, you don’t know.”

The speakeasy bar will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday – and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.