By Jessica Kenley

COUDERSPORT, PA — There is something about a speakeasy that seems to invite a little mystery.

Perhaps it is the music. The dim lights. The feathers, fringe and pearls. Maybe it is the idea of stepping through a doorway and leaving the ordinary world behind for a few hours.

Beginning Sept. 19, Coudersport will have its own version of that experience.

Untouchables Speakeasy, a new 1920s-themed BYOB establishment on Main Street next to Cream n’ Sugar, is preparing to open its doors at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. The business is the creation of local entrepreneur Alyssa Hillman, a mother of five whose enthusiasm for her new venture is almost as infectious as the atmosphere she is creating inside it.

And Hillman isn’t simply opening a place to bring a beverage and sit at a table.

She envisions a gathering place.

There will be dancing, music, karaoke, open mic nights, poetry readings and opportunities for local performers and musicians to take the stage. Hillman said she hopes the space will continually evolve as people discover new ways to use it.

“I plan on doing a bunch of different things,” Hillman said during an interview with Monarch Media. “Do poetry night if they want to do poetry, if they don’t want to sing or dance or whatever.”

A karaoke machine with a smart tablet will allow patrons to choose their own songs and follow the lyrics, while the stage will provide a home for open mic performances and other entertainment.

Hillman also hopes to bring local musicians and theatrical performers into the space.

“You’re getting something new every time,” she said.

A Name With Local History

The name Untouchables was not chosen simply because it sounds like something from the Roaring Twenties.

Hillman discovered a connection between her concept and Coudersport’s own history while researching the story of famed Prohibition-era lawman Eliot Ness.

The town is closely associated with Ness, whose later years were spent in Coudersport, and with the history surrounding The Untouchables, the book about Ness and his pursuit of organized crime and Al Capone.

Hillman said she initially came up with the idea of a speakeasy after seeing a similar concept in New York. Later, as she researched Coudersport’s connection to Eliot Ness, the pieces began to fall together.

“I was like, you know what? I think this would be a perfect name,” Hillman said.

That connection has also opened the door for collaboration with the Eliot Ness Museum.

Hillman said she hopes to organize a murder-mystery walking event around Halloween, beginning at the speakeasy and sending participants to different locations throughout town in search of clues. The event could eventually conclude at the Eliot Ness Museum, where participants could have their photographs taken in the museum’s jail cell.

“It’ll be a fun little thing to do for everybody,” Hillman said.

Building Something of Her Own

The speakeasy is the result of Hillman’s own hard work and savings.

She described herself as an entrepreneur and said she worked and saved until she had enough money to put her plans into motion.

“I literally put every penny of this to the side and just gradually worked and worked until I…” Hillman said, trailing off as she described the long process of bringing the business to life.

Much of the work inside the building has been done by Hillman and people helping her with the renovation. New flooring has replaced older linoleum and carpet, and Hillman has been collecting decorations to gradually transform the space.

There are plans for additional touches as the business grows, including darker walls, dimmer lighting and more intimate lounge-style surroundings.

She has even considered creating a hidden entrance someday—a playful nod to the secretive entrances associated with Prohibition-era establishments.

For now, a curtain or bead drape may provide a little mystery.

“I feel like that would be something simple I could definitely do too,” she said.

The women working at the speakeasy will wear 1920s-inspired flapper attire, complete with fringe, feathers and pearls, adding another layer to the atmosphere Hillman is creating.

A Place to Go

For Coudersport, the opening represents something more than another new business.

Main Street has experienced significant changes in recent years, including the loss of longtime establishments such as the Hotel Crittenden and Olga’s. With those businesses gone, opportunities for an evening gathering place on Main Street have become increasingly limited.

Hillman believes her speakeasy can help fill some of that void—not by trying to recreate what once was, but by creating something different.

“I feel like I have a lot of really great ideas that I can do for entertainment and theater, just anything like that,” she said.

The response she has received from many people in the community, she said, has been encouraging.

“I think everyone’s pretty much really excited about the whole thing,” Hillman said.

The establishment will initially accommodate approximately 49 people at a time.

Hillman said the door fee will be $25 per person, with plans to offer a discount for couples. Because it is a BYOB establishment, patrons may bring alcoholic beverages, while Hillman plans to provide mixers.

She emphasized that she wants the business to be clean, safe and respectful of the surrounding community.

“If anybody’s over drinking, you’ll be asked politely to leave and respect the boundaries and, you know, the town itself,” she said.

Keeping Her Eyes Forward

Opening a new business is rarely without challenges, and Hillman’s journey has been no exception.

She acknowledged that she has faced criticism connected to her previous employment at another local adult entertainment establishment. Hillman said she believes some of that criticism stems from concerns about competition and misconceptions about what Untouchables Speakeasy will be.

Hillman specifically disputed the idea that her new establishment is intended to replicate that type of business.

She said she wants Untouchables to remain focused on entertainment, music, theater, socializing and the 1920s atmosphere.

“It’s not that kind of dance,” Hillman said when discussing the entertainment planned for the speakeasy.

She also spoke about the word “burlesque,” explaining that she views it primarily in terms of theatrical performance, comedy and entertainment rather than nudity.

Regardless of the criticism, Hillman said she intends to continue moving forward.

“That’s not going to stop me,” she said.

Her message throughout the interview was remarkably consistent: she wants to build something of her own and create a place where people can have fun.

“I’m not here to, you know, make a mockery of myself, let alone the town,” Hillman said.

That determination may ultimately be one of the defining characteristics of Untouchables Speakeasy.

A New Chapter on Main Street

Hillman knows that Untouchables will begin small.

But she is already thinking beyond the opening.

“If it’s a huge hit, like I hope and pray it is, I will expand the business so that I can have more people come in and enjoy it more,” she said.

For a town that has watched portions of its downtown change dramatically over the past several years, the sight of a new business preparing to open its doors on Main Street carries its own kind of excitement.

There will be music.

There will be performers.

There will be people dressed in feathers and fringe.

There will be karaoke, poetry, dancing and laughter.

And, perhaps most importantly, there will once again be another reason for people to come downtown, stay awhile and enjoy one another’s company.

Hillman isn’t promising to recreate the 1920s.

She’s creating her own version of it.

And on Sept. 19, the doors to Untouchables Speakeasy will open—and Coudersport will get its first look at what she has spent months imagining, saving for and building.

“I can’t wait,” Hillman said.

Neither, apparently, can much of Potter County.