The W Speakeasy

The W is an intimate, reservation-driven speakeasy-style cocktail bar on the second story of a historic brick building at 6½ SW 3rd St in downtown Lee’s Summit’s Strother District. Opened in 2015 by husband-and-wife owner-operators Shane and Merideth Veritasi, its entrance is disguised as an early-1900s doctor’s office bearing the nameplate of “O.C. Woods, M.D.” — and the “W” itself is a play on wraith (a ghost or spirit). The W pours an elevated, seasonal craft-cocktail program in a small exclusive space; in 2019 the Veritasis opened their more casual, walk-in sister concept, Hand in Glove, on the floor directly below.

Description

The W is a small, deliberately exclusive speakeasy-style cocktail bar occupying the second story of a historic downtown Lee’s Summit building.¹² In keeping with the speakeasy conceit, the entrance is disguised: it presents as an early-1900s physician’s office carrying the nameplate of “O.C. Woods, M.D.”³ The bar’s name is a play on the word wraith — a ghost or spirit — fitting the hidden, after-hours character of the room.³

The cocktail program is elevated and seasonal, built on fresh and house-made ingredients with the menu changing several times a year.¹ Documented house drinks have included a Smoked Vanilla (house burnt sugar, bitters, and bourbon) and a blackberry-sage bramble made with farmers’-market produce.¹ The experience is intentionally intimate and reservation-driven — guests are encouraged to reserve, with bookings handled by text message.⁴ Relative to the owners’ downstairs concept Hand in Glove, which is a casual, walk-in coffee-and-cocktail bar, The W is the more upscale and experimental of the two cocktail programs.²⁵

Ownership and history

Period	Operator / milestone
2015	Shane and Merideth Veritasi open The W, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar, on the second story of a historic downtown Lee’s Summit building at 6½ SW 3rd St123
2016	The Veritasis announce a downstairs coffee-and-cocktail concept beneath The W, projected to open “by January”6
October 2019	The sister concept Hand in Glove opens on the ground floor directly below The W, after a roughly two-year owner-led renovation5
Present	The W remains open and operating under Veritasi ownership; independent and owner-operated, part of the Strother District14

Shane and Merideth Veritasi are a married couple who live in Lee’s Summit and own and operate both The W and the downstairs Hand in Glove in the same historic downtown building.²³⁵ Merideth and her husband purchased the second-story space specifically to open a speakeasy, and later acquired the first floor beneath it for what became Hand in Glove.² The business is independent — no corporate parent or franchise affiliation — and is one of several owner-operated concepts anchoring the Strother District, a small downtown Lee’s Summit entertainment cluster.¹ on whether the owners are KC-metro born-and-raised — sources confirm they live in Lee’s Summit but do not establish birthplace; load-bearing for the Tier 1 vs Tier 2 call below.

Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewspeakeasy/ — from seed; not re-confirmed against a live primary source on this pass
• Website: https://www.theprivate.bar (listed by the Strother District directory as The W’s site; the bar’s Facebook page is “ThePrivateBar”)¹ — TLS/certificate error on direct fetch; confirm the live URL
• Phone: (816) 287-0000 (per Strother District directory)¹ — conflicts with the seed value (816) 554-9800; the (816) 287-0000 number also appears on Hand in Glove aggregator listings, suggesting a possible shared/placeholder line. Neither number confirmed against a single authoritative owner-controlled source.

See also

• hand-in-glove
• lees-summit
• Registry

Sources

Footnotes

1. The Strother District — The W listing (address 6½ SW 3rd St; phone (816) 287-0000; website www.theprivate.bar; award-winning seasonal craft cocktails; reservations by text; Strother District). https://www.strotherdist.com/the-w-1 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

2. Feast Magazine, “First Look: The W Shakes Things Up in Downtown Lee’s Summit” (2015) — opening of The W; owner Merideth Veritasi and her husband purchase the second-story space for a speakeasy; seasonal cocktail menu (Smoked Vanilla, blackberry-sage bramble). https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/first-look-the-w-shakes-things-up-in-downtown-lee-s-summit/article_e3c81caa-29a9-11e5-b301-c34a2d881923.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Discover Finer Living, “The W Now Open in Lee’s Summit” — speakeasy concept; entrance disguised as a doctor’s office with the “O.C. Woods, M.D.” nameplate; “W” as a play on wraith (ghost/spirit); owners the Veritasis. https://discoverfinerliving.com/the-w-now-open-in-lees-summit/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Yelp — The W, 6½ 3rd St, Lee’s Summit, MO (cocktail-bar / speakeasy listing; address; reservations; open status). https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-w-lees-summit ↩ ↩²

5. Discover Finer Living, “The Long Awaited Hand in Glove is Now Open in Lee’s Summit” (Oct. 29, 2019) — Hand in Glove opens beneath The W; owners Shane & Merideth Veritasi; The W described as the more elevated cocktail program. https://discoverfinerliving.com/the-long-awaited-hand-in-glove-is-now-open-in-lees-summit/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

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