This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

a Prohibition-era-style basement cocktail and live-jazz room inside the J. Rieger & Co. distillery in Kansas City’s East Bottoms. Named for the original Hey-Hay Club, a 1930s Pendergast-era speakeasy that hosted Count Basie and Lester Young. Operated by J. Rieger & Co., the revived 1887 KC heritage distillery relaunched in 2014 by descendant Andy Rieger and bartender Ryan Maybee. Independent and locally owned; assessed Tier 1 on the heritage/editorial case.

Description

The Hey! Hey! Club is a basement-level cocktail bar and live-music room inside the J. Rieger & Co. distillery at 2700 Guinotte Ave in Kansas City’s East Bottoms.12 Designed as a tribute to Kansas City’s Prohibition-era jazz heritage, the intimate space seats roughly 50 with standing room for about 40 more, outfitted with plush emerald-green velvet booths, Chesterfield-style leather sofas, and wingback chairs evoking the dusky gentlemen’s clubs of the early 20th century.2

The club’s name is a direct homage to the original Hey-Hay Club, a 1930s Kansas City speakeasy at Fourth and Cherry streets (see Ownership and history).23 The modern room’s exterior sign is an original prop recreated from Robert Altman’s 1996 film Kansas City, anchoring the space to the city’s jazz mythology.24 Programming features Kansas City jazz musicians — trios, duos, and solo pianists — on regular music nights (jazz returned on Thursday evenings after the pandemic, with a stated goal of expanding to more nights).4 The bar’s cocktail list has been organized around historical “chapters” of Kansas City’s story, alongside wine, beer, and a food menu of small plates and entrees.2

The Hey! Hey! Club is one of two bar experiences within the distillery; the upstairs Monogram Lounge connects to the production floor, and the distillery tour famously includes a custom-engineered 40-foot, two-story corkscrew slide that carries guests from the second floor down to the first.56

Ownership and history

The Hey! Hey! Club is operated by J. Rieger & Co., and its story is inseparable from two histories: the distillery’s own 1887→1919→2014 arc, and the 1930s speakeasy whose name it borrows.

The original distillery (1887–1919). J. Rieger & Co. was founded in 1887 by Jacob Rieger, an immigrant who built it into what contemporary accounts describe as the largest mail-order whiskey house in the country.78 Prohibition shut the company down circa 1919–1920, ending the original Rieger distilling business.78

The revival (2014). In 2014, Andy Rieger — described in coverage as the great-great-great grandson of founder Jacob Rieger — partnered with veteran Kansas City bartender Ryan Maybee to relaunch the brand as a working distillery, with master distillers Tom Nichol and the late Dave Pickerell credited as early industry backers.78 The revived company first operated at a smaller location before expanding.

The East Bottoms flagship (2019). In 2019, J. Rieger & Co. opened a roughly 60,000-square-foot flagship distillery and hospitality center (up from about 15,000 sq ft) inside the historic Heim Brewery bottling building in the East Bottoms / Electric Park district.56 The Hey! Hey! Club opened in the building’s basement in September 2019.25 Having launched mere months before the COVID-19 pandemic, the club closed after fewer than six months and later reopened at full strength, relaunching its live-jazz programming (initially Thursday nights).4

The namesake — the original Hey-Hay Club (1930s). The modern club is named for the Hey-Hay Club, a Kansas City jazz speakeasy at Fourth and Cherry streets, generally dated 1931–1938, owned and operated by saloon entrepreneur Milton Morris.32 Morris converted a former horse-feed barn into the venue around 1932, decorating it with corn shucks and seating patrons on hay bales while bands in red bandanas and overalls played from a farm-wagon stage — the source of the “Hey-Hay” name. The club operated openly during Prohibition under the protection of the Tom Pendergast political machine, which let Kansas City’s speakeasies and its jazz scene flourish (earning the city the “Paris of the Plains” nickname). The Hey-Hay hosted jazz figures including Count Basie, Lester Young, Jo Jones, and Ben Webster.3 (See pendergast-era.)

YearEvent
1887Jacob Rieger founds J. Rieger & Co. in Kansas City
1931–1938Original Hey-Hay Club operates at 4th & Cherry (Milton Morris; Pendergast-era jazz)
c. 1919–1920Prohibition shuts down the original Rieger distillery
2014Andy Rieger (descendant) + Ryan Maybee revive J. Rieger & Co.
2019East Bottoms flagship distillery opens; Hey! Hey! Club opens in the basement (Sept)
~2020–2021Pandemic closure, then reopening; jazz programming relaunched

J. Rieger & Co. — and with it the Hey! Hey! Club — remains independently and locally owned, with no corporate parent identified in available sources.78

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. J. Rieger & Co. — official site, “Kansas City’s distillery since 1887.” https://www.jriegerco.com/ (seed URL https://jrieger.com/hey-hey-club/ redirects here). Asserts: founded 1887 by Jacob Rieger; revived 2014 by Andy Rieger + Ryan Maybee; landmark American family-legacy distillery; no corporate parent stated; largest pre-Prohibition mail-order whiskey house. ↩ ↩2

  2. Feast Magazine — “The Hey! Hey! Club Opens at the J. Rieger & Co. Distillery, Offering Premium Cocktails and Full Dining Experience” (Sept 20, 2019). https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/the-hey-hey-club-opens-at-the-j-rieger-co-distillery-offering-premium-cocktails-and/article_87dd1c3a-dbd2-11e9-87d5-f3a04fe54b1c.html. Asserts: basement cocktail bar; opened Sept 2019; ~50 seated / ~40 standing; velvet booths and Chesterfield/wingback decor; 15 cocktails by KC “chapters”; sign is a prop from Robert Altman’s film Kansas City; named for the original Hey-Hay Club (1931–1938, 4th & Cherry; Count Basie, Lester Young). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. Clio — “The Hey-Hay Club (1932–1935)” and corroborating KC jazz-history coverage. https://theclio.com/entry/201733. Asserts: original Hey-Hay Club at 4th & Cherry; owner Milton Morris; former horse-feed barn; corn shucks / hay bales / farm-wagon stage origin of the name; operated under Pendergast-machine protection; performers Count Basie, Jo Jones, Lester Young, Ben Webster. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. KC Jazz Ambassadors — “Rebirth of a Legend: The Return of Kansas City’s Hey! Hey!” https://www.kcjazzambassadors.org/post/rebirth-of-a-legend-the-return-of-kansas-city-s-hey-hey. Asserts: jazz returned Thursday nights post-pandemic; opened just before pandemic and closed after <6 months, then reopened at full strength; KC jazz trios/duos/solo pianists; GM Josie Herrick; basement of the historic Heim Brewery bottling plant; Hey! Hey! sign from Altman’s 1996 film Kansas City. Instagram club account @theheyheyclub. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. Feast Magazine — “J. Rieger & Co.’s Massive New Distillery Opens in Kansas City’s East Bottoms” (2019). https://www.feastmagazine.com/drink/drink_kansas_city/article_1dd49e74-a4b6-11e9-abd3-c70f0c4f0e8d.html. Asserts: East Bottoms flagship in historic Heim Brewery bottling building; two bar experiences; basement Hey! Hey! Club; corkscrew slide; expansion to ~60,000 sq ft. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Distillery Trail — “J. Rieger & Co. Cuts the Ribbon on New Distillery Experience, KC History Exhibit & a 2 Story 40’ Slide.” https://www.distillerytrail.com/blog/j-rieger-co-cuts-the-ribbon-on-new-distillery-experience-kc-history-exhibit-a-2-story-40-slide/. Asserts: 40-foot, two-story custom slide from the second-floor Monogram Lounge to the first floor; ~60,000 sq ft facility (from ~15,000); historic Heim Brewery building / Electric Park. Corrects seed “3-story slide” to a 40-foot, two-story slide. ↩ ↩2

  7. Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce — Member Spotlight: J. Rieger & Co. https://www.kcchamber.com/current-topics/member-spotlight-j-rieger. Asserts: founded 1887 by Jacob Rieger; Prohibition closure; revival in 2014 by Andy Rieger (great-great-great grandson) and Ryan Maybee; East Bottoms distillery. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. BevNET — “J. Rieger & Co. to Open New Distillery and Hospitality Center” (2018). https://www.bevnet.com/news/spirits/2018/j-rieger-co-open-new-distillery-hospitality-center/. Asserts: 1887 founding; Prohibition shutdown; 2014 revival by Andy Rieger and Ryan Maybee; independent KC ownership; East Bottoms / Heim Brewery building expansion. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

See also

Categories
  • Locally owned
  • East Bottoms