Hand in Glove

Hand in Glove is an independent coffee-by-day, cocktails-by-night bar in a historic 1887 brick building at 6 SW 3rd St in downtown Lee’s Summit’s Strother District. Opened in October 2019 by husband-and-wife owner-operators Shane and Merideth Veritasi — who also own and operate the speakeasy The W directly upstairs — it serves locally roasted espresso and draft coffee drinks during the day and an approachable cocktail program, many drinks playing coffee’s bitter-sweet register, into the night. The Veritasis hand-renovated the building themselves over roughly two years.

Description

Hand in Glove is a dual-concept venue that operates as a specialty coffee shop during the day and a craft cocktail bar into the evening — “coffee, cocktails & coffee cocktails.”¹ The coffee program runs classic espresso drinks alongside nitro espresso and draft lattes built on local Post Coffee Co., with drip coffee rotating between local roasters Monarch and Blip Roasters.² The cocktail list — grouped under a “Poured, Stirred and Shook” heading — emphasizes drinks that play on the same bitter-and-sweet axis as coffee, with many cocktails incorporating coffee directly, plus a lineup of liqueur lattes (bourbon burnt sugar, Irish salted caramel, Canadian maple leaf).² Compared to the more elevated, experimental cocktail program at the owners’ upstairs speakeasy The W, Hand in Glove’s cocktails are intentionally more familiar and approachable.³

The bar occupies a brick building dating to 1887. During an extensive owner-led renovation the Veritasis discovered the building sat on old railroad ties and had to pour new concrete footings on three sides; the finished interior features white marble imported from Turkey, white subway tile, red leather bar stools with brass accents, and a custom-painted La Marzocco espresso machine in matching red-and-brass trim.³ The owners have said the concept was inspired by El Biky, a bistro in Old Havana, Cuba — a late-1950s neighborhood gathering spot they wanted to “bring back home” to Lee’s Summit. The name “Hand in Glove” references the early-1900s spirit of collaboration among downtown Lee’s Summit businesses, framing the bar as part of the emerging Strother District.⁴

Ownership and history

Period	Operator / milestone
(prior)	Shane and Merideth Veritasi open and operate The W, an elevated-cocktail speakeasy in downtown Lee’s Summit35
2016	The W’s owners announce plans for a downstairs coffee-and-cocktail concept, then projected to open “by January” (it would take considerably longer)5
~2017–2019	Veritasis hand-renovate the 1887 brick building over roughly two years, doing most of the work themselves3
October 2019	Hand in Glove opens at 6 SW 3rd St, beneath The W, as a coffee-by-day / cocktail-by-night bar open seven days a week23
Present	Open and operating under Veritasi ownership; remains independent and owner-operated16

Shane and Merideth Veritasi are a married couple who own and operate both Hand in Glove and the speakeasy The W, which sits directly upstairs in the same downtown Lee’s Summit block.²³ They performed the bulk of the Hand in Glove renovation themselves over about two years.³ The business is independent with no corporate parent or franchise affiliation; it is one of several owner-operated concepts anchoring the Strother District, a small downtown Lee’s Summit entertainment cluster.¹ on the owners’ birthplace / whether they are KC-metro born-and-raised — load-bearing for the Tier 1 vs Tier 2 call below.

Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handinglovels/
• Website: https://handinglove.square.site/ — Square storefront found in listings; not re-confirmed against an owner-linked primary source
• Phone: (816) 607-2340 — from seed; multiple aggregator listings instead show (816) 287-0000, which appears to be a placeholder. Phone not confirmed against an official source — conflict unresolved.

See also

• lees-summit
• Registry

Sources

Footnotes

1. The Strother District — Hand in Glove listing (“coffee, cocktails & coffee cocktails”; 6 SW 3rd St; Strother District). https://www.strotherdist.com/hand-in-glove-1 ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Feast Magazine, “Hand in Glove Brings Coffee and Cocktails Together in Downtown Lee’s Summit’s New Strother District” — concept, Post Coffee Co. / Monarch / Blip drip, “Poured, Stirred and Shook” cocktails, liqueur lattes, sister to The W upstairs, owners Shane & Merideth Veritasi. https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/hand-in-glove-brings-coffee-and-cocktails-together-in-downtown-lee-s-summits-new-strother/article_7688bddc-361c-11ea-a294-17025bfc91d0.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Discover Finer Living, “The Long Awaited Hand in Glove is Now Open in Lee’s Summit” (Oct. 29, 2019) — owners Shane & Merideth Veritasi; opened October 2019; two-year self-renovation; railroad-tie footings; Turkish marble, red leather stools, custom La Marzocco; more familiar cocktails vs. The W. https://discoverfinerliving.com/the-long-awaited-hand-in-glove-is-now-open-in-lees-summit/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

4. City Lifestyle (Lee’s Summit), “Quench Your Thirst at ‘Hand in Glove’” — Veritasis, El Biky / Old Havana inspiration, “bring it back home” quote, name referencing early-1900s downtown business collaboration, historic building below The W. https://citylifestyle.com/articles/lees-summit-couple-continues-to-quench-your-thirst ↩

5. Feast Magazine, “The W in Lee’s Summit to Open Hand in Glove by January” (2016) — original announcement of the downstairs coffee-and-cocktail concept by The W’s owners. https://www.feastmagazine.com/kansas-city/article_22ba2ea2-8cd8-11e6-a8cc-0f77fad0d61b.html ↩ ↩²

6. Yelp — Hand in Glove, 6 SW 3rd St, Lee’s Summit, MO (address, cocktail-bar listing, open status). https://www.yelp.com/biz/hand-in-glove-lees-summit ↩