Photos: Basement speakeasy called Hi/Lo opens underneath Mason Bar in Uptown Dallas

by Sarah Blaskovich , Elliott Muñoz

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Seems like a good date spot.

DALLAS — Photos of the new Uptown Dallas speakeasy Hi/Lo are best taken in black and white. This new cocktailery is the little brother to Mason Bar and is located in its basement via an unmarked door. The swanky, sexy space is open Thursday through Sunday and will serve as a music venue, bar, and occasional event space.

Owner W. Brandt Wood, who has co-owned Trees and Gypsy Tea Room, among other Dallas bars, says it's Dallas' first speakeasy.

"Nowadays I think it's OK to speak about a speakeasy, and yet I've never heard of one," he said. "I'm inspired by the idea of it. Growing up in New Orleans, we had plenty of old haunts that were sort of untouched in that area."

Hi/Lo was named in part because it's below another bar. It's also an innuendo for the word "hello." In true speakeasy form, "It's another way to say 'welcome' without having to say 'hello'," Wood said. The format of Hi/Lo in relation to Mason Bar is similar to the relationship between the Green Room and the Dark Room, two Deep Ellum spaces run by Woods: one for food & drinks and the other for after-dinner entertainment.

Hi/Lo will feature live music, usually jazz or acoustic, with local or regional musicians. Wood says most acts will have an "authentic groove."

The room has neat skull wallpaper, with low-to-the-floor windows adding to the underground allure. The building was built in the 1920s and previously served as a church and a Masonic lodge. "In a way, it felt like a crypt to us, being subterranean," Wood said. He decorated the interior himself.

Hi/Lo will be most successful if the owners can get a high-profile bartender or two to lure Mason Bar diners into the secluded basement for a few drinks to end the night.

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