Entry No. 57 — the Oklahoma City file — filed under: speakeasy
The Joinery Speakeasy
A hidden basement speakeasy inside The Joinery, set in a historic furniture-factory building, that you can only enter with the secret code. Cracking your way in is half the night.
The story
Before it was a hidden basement drinking den, 121 E Sheridan Avenue spent generations as the factory floor of the Oklahoma Furniture Manufacturing Co., and later as the creaky multi-level beer shrine TapWerks Ale House. When the space was reimagined as The Joinery, the operators left a nod to the building's woodworking past upstairs—and tucked a secret door lock down in the cellar.
The gimmick down below was built on a simple ritual: you couldn't just wander downstairs and push through the door. You had to find the keypad code first. Regulars knew that unlocking the cellar meant casually approaching the staff at the upstairs bar and asking for the password. Armed with the digits, you'd descend the dim stairwell, punch the code into the electronic lock, and hear the latch drop.
Here is the conspiratorial catch you need to know before putting on your coat: check the pulse of the space first. In early 2026, Yelp marked The Joinery as permanently closed, and parent company CTB Group quietly removed it from their list of active concepts. Whether the basement keypad is currently live or silent under a new operator, confirming it's pouring before you head down Sheridan is half the battle.
What it's like
If the cellar is pouring, your night starts upstairs at the main bar, where you'll need to ask the bartender for the current door code. Head down the dim staircase, key the code into the locked door, and step inside the subterranean space beneath the old furniture factory floor. Positioned directly across from the Mickey Mantle streetcar stop, it puts you steps from the Bricktown canal if you need to spill back out into the night.
The move: Hunt down the code beforehand, slip into the basement bar, and order craft cocktails in the room you had to unlock.
📍 Before you go Fair warning: Yelp marked The Joinery permanently closed in early 2026 and parent company CTB Group no longer lists it among its concepts, so confirm it is actually operating — or has reopened under a new name — before you build a night around it. If the basement is pouring, it hides beneath the old Oklahoma Furniture Manufacturing Co. building (the longtime TapWerks space): take the dimly lit staircase down and punch the code into the door, and regulars say the password comes from simply asking staff at the upstairs bar. The Mickey Mantle streetcar stop is directly across the street, with the Bricktown ballpark and canal a short walk away for the rest of the night.
- 📍 Bricktown (Downtown OKC)
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 121 E Sheridan Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Flaming Lips Alley — Stroll one block over to see Bricktown's genuinely dingy back alley named after OKC's favorite psychedelic rock band.
- The Vault at The National — Double down on subterranean drinking by heading 0.4 miles west to a cocktail lounge set inside an underground bank vault.
- Skirvin Hotel — Pair your basement drink hunt with a quick walk west to explore the lobby of OKC's most famously haunted historic hotel.
Good to know
How do you get the door code?
You ask the staff working the main upstairs bar; regulars confirm a quick ask to the bartender gets you the code for the keypad downstairs.
Is The Joinery Speakeasy currently open?
Double-check before making the trip. Yelp listed the concept as permanently closed in early 2026 and parent company CTB Group no longer features it, so verify whether the space is active or operating under a new name.
Where is the venue located?
It sits at 121 E Sheridan Ave in Bricktown, directly across from the Mickey Mantle streetcar stop and a short walk from the ballpark and canal.
What was in this building before?
The historic brick structure originally housed the Oklahoma Furniture Manufacturing Co. and was later home to the longtime local favorite TapWerks Ale House.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: ctbokc.com · nerdytravelcouple.com · tiktok.com
last checked: 2026-06-09