'People seek that bit of difference': Inside the secret Leeds venues hiding in plain sight
‘I think you have to have a niche, and I think you have to know who you are and your identity’
There’s nothing like the thrill of stumbling upon a “secret” spot. A speakeasy or underground jazz bar hidden in plain sight, where word-of-mouth turns whispers into legend and the address itself is half the story.
For ten weeks, the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Leeds Summer Served campaign is exploring the city’s incredible hospitality industry - from award-winning restaurants to the micropubs, breweries and bars that give Leeds its unique character.
At the Grand Arcade in the city centre, two of those venues sit right next door to each other, with hundreds of unassuming shoppers passing them each day without even knowing they’re there.
"People seek that bit of difference"
Hidden in plain sight in the Grand Arcade, Tailors looks very much like your typical gentleman’s tailor by day, with beautiful old Fisher sewing machines and elegant costumes lining the store. But at 6pm, the needle and thread make way for a 1920s-style speakeasy and distillery.
The unique concept was born in 2018 through a combination of finding the right space and combining previous experiences, co-founder Jamila Juma-Ware told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“We started out exactly as a tailor’s shop. (Co-founder) Matt makes suits for gentlemen from scratch,” she said.
“We’d been doing that for about seven years, alongside running pop-up bars and themed events with dry ice, potions and colour-changing cocktails. The idea to merge the two came from there: being different, having fun, and just providing something that no one else is doing.”
Carving out a unique slice of the market is essential at a time when people are becoming pickier about where they spend their money, Jamila believes.
“I think you have to have a niche, and I think you have to know who you are and your identity - that’s what’s critical,” she said.
“If you know who you are and you do that really well, people will come because they understand what they’re getting. They understand the offering.”
Tailors also has its own brand of in-store distilled spirits, including gins, rums and even absinthe.
“We were one of the first in Leeds city centre to distil and have been distilling since 2018,” Jamila explained. “We distil our own spirits, so what we’re doing is true prohibition - a working tailor by day, then by night flipping it into a 1920s speakeasy.”
But operating as a "hidden gem" requires some fine balancing. Customers need to be attracted for the business to stay afloat, but advertise too much and the speakeasy label becomes obsolete.
“People walk past and see what looks like a tailor’s shop and think we’re having a private party,” she said. “So we have a door host to greet people and explain who we are and what we do. We don’t expect people to just walk in - they need that little bit of a welcome.”
To her, speakeasy venues like Tailors offer an experience that more visible pubs and bars cannot.
“It’s about throwing people into an immersive world where they don’t expect it and they come out laughing and having had a really great time,” she said. “People seek that bit of difference - something that makes you remember the night - and that’s what we deliver. It’s more than the drink for us, it’s the whole experience.”
"A rising tide lifts all boats"
Just across the walkway, right opposite Tailors, hides Leeds' "worst-kept secret". Ask newcomers to Leeds, and they'll almost certainly tell you they want to visit the Domino Club, the secret jazz bar hidden beneath a barbershop.
The dimly lit cellar venue, where live music is guaranteed seven days a week, has become a Leeds institution since brothers and business partners Alexander and Jonathan Neil opened it in 2017.
“It was the building that dictated what we were going to do,” Alexander told the YEP.
“When we found this site, it was just a massive basement with a really small shopfront on the ground floor, and you couldn’t really put a bar up there – it just didn’t fit.
“We were really friendly with the guys at Lord’s Barbering, so we had the idea of the speakeasy, and the fact that it’s a real working barber shop makes a difference.”
But it's not just its hidden location beneath a real barbershop that has made the Domino Club an institution. Alexander credits its talented bar staff, authentic atmosphere and the diverse live music on offer.
“The three pillars of the Domino Club are the music, the drinks and the service. We make a point to say there’s live music every single night we’re open – we’ve never opened without live music,” he explained.
"In the week it’s the quintessential jazz club - moody, low lighting, really cool - and on weekends it turns into a rowdier live music party with funk and reggae bands.”
The club has also become a platform for aspiring musicians, many of whom study at Leeds Conservatoire.
“When we opened 10 years ago we were the only venue of our type, and we needed to find people to fill the stage every night, so our first stop was the college,” he said.
“A lot of people that started as 18, 19, 20-year-old students have cut their teeth here and moved on to London or Manchester where there are bigger venues and more money. Some have gone on to be award-winning jazz musicians all over the world.”
A few years ago, the team decided to introduce a modest £9 entry fee. Controversial at first, they soon realised that people are more than willing to pay a reasonable fee for an unusual experience.
“All the money that we take on the door goes towards paying musicians. It doesn’t cover all the musicians’ bills, but it goes towards paying them, and people are willing to pay the nine quid because they come down and get a different experience,” Alexander said.
Like many operators the Yorkshire Evening Post has spoken to during the Leeds Summer Served campaign, he agrees there is camaraderie among venues in the city.
“We always use the phrase ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’ We want good operators around us - it makes the area better,” Alexander said.
“I never see any other bar in the city as a competitor; I see them all as allies. We’re all striving to do the same thing.”
From hidden speakeasies and basement jazz clubs to neighbourhood pubs and independent restaurants, Leeds’ hospitality scene thrives on creating experiences that go beyond the food and drink itself.
As the Leeds Summer Served campaign continues, the YEP will keep celebrating the people, places and ideas that make the city one of country’s best destinations for eating, drinking and discovering something new.