A century ago, J. Ott & Co Undertaking was the only town morgue in Independence. Next month, it’ll be a pop-up bar.
Kansas City’s Halloween pop-up bar, Apparition Spookeasy, is partnering with 3 Trails Brewing to open a new location in the Historic Independence Square. Edward Schmalz, the owner of Apparition, says guests will be handed a lantern as they begin their descent into the underground bar.
The pop-up will feature Halloween-themed cocktails including the Xenomorph, made with Union Horses’ Rye Whiskey and Szechuan peppers meant to “realign the senses” so the cocktail is tasted in inverse. The Nosferatu is a pitch-black cocktail with activated charcoal and mezcal. The Monster Squad is a sharable, apple brandy drink served in a black cauldron with dry ice. There’s also the Upsidesown Old Fashioned, which uses waffle-infused rum and maple syrup.
Schmalz says he’s always loved Halloween. “I thought it would be fun to create a Halloween party that would last for over a month,” he says.
The new pop-up location will open on September 17 and remain open through the end of October. Customers can sip drinks in the eerie space Thursday through Saturday, from 6 pm to 1 am and on Halloween, which falls on a Sunday this year.
And if you can’t make it out to Independence, KC has at least one other bar with a similar background. Fat Matt’s Vortex in KCK is in a former funeral home. There’s even a crematorium in the basement, though that space has been leased to a local club of motorcycle enthusiasts.
