(western music) (western music) (western music) -[Ryan] I always get a kick out of when people pull up because they're like, if you bring a new person.

They're like, where are you taking me?

Like, we're cruising along on a gravel road.

It's pitch black out and there's just this little dot with light.

(western music) It's the Speakeasy, like a steakhouse in the middle of cornfield.

Pretty much.

Yeah.

My father would tell me he'd have people refuse to come in.

They bring him in, they're like, "no, we're not going in there."

(western music) But they say, never judge a book by its cover.

(western music) (phone ringing) (soft background chatter) (phone ringing) -[Erica] We're definitely a very busy restaurant.

- We'll see you at 7:30.

-[Erica] Yeah.

So the phone starts ringing.

Everybody's calling to make reservations.

Oh, I'm sorry about that.

When Ryan came, we really kept the staple of the menu, like the steaks and the prime rib.

But his knowledge of cooking and of beef just elevated it so much.

And at first, people didn't know quite what to think about that.

But I would say from the time I've started until now, the business has over quadrupled, at least.

- Yeah, we get people from all over the place.

- Oh gosh, I've talked to people from Canada.

- They literally are coming from all over the United States.

I've had them from coast to coast.

- We'll have people from India, from Great Britain, all over the world.

(jazz music) - I think you have to be there.

-[Erica] You get a lot of people here, they're celebrating birthdays.

Big birthday today.

- Thank you!

50!

-[Erica] Anniversaries.

They maybe came with their families when they were kids and they're back visiting.

You said they're coming back now with their kids.

The other day I had a customer that came in.

They hadn't been here for 40 years, and they were probably in their late 70s, and they said they felt like they were coming home.

-[Taylor] I've worked at the Speakeasy for a little over two years now.

I love it.

Everybody who works here, it's like family.

So it's just great.

(soft jazz music) -[Erica] They are surprised a lot of the times, especially when you drive up outside and you see it's just this little, you know, kind of rundown building on the outside.

And then they walk in and you have a nice restaurant with the white linens and it's just kind of got a little nostalgic feel to it.

(soft jazz music) -[Dale] I really enjoy their Sacramento strip, and I like Ryan, and the staff has great service and friendly, and, (people chatting) plus the stories about, everything being haunted is kind of interesting too.

(eerie music) -[Taylor] Uh-huh.

Faceless Fred.

(eerie music) We've had weird things happen, you know, just here and there.

Like one time my hands were very full, and I was walking through these, swinging doors here, and they just floated open for me.

So a little bit of a gentleman, maybe.

-[Erica] The story behind Fred is that he was a gentleman that ran this building during the 20s, and he was not a well-liked man in the community or by his wife.

- What should I ask What happened to him?

-[Erica] He was slaughtered and thrown in our well.

- Oh, I'm really sorry, I asked.

- Well, the story is he cheated on his wife and she found out.

So she cut his face off and shot him and threw in the well.

Oh, people come in all the time for it.

- We want to meet him!

-[Ryan] It's pretty funny.

They always got to ask.

- A lot of people that are interested in the paranormal.

Initially they'll come because they're really interested in that ghost story, but then they end up coming back because they just had a great dinner.

- I love it.

It's my favorite.

Well, there's none left, but I order dessert first thing when I get here because it's my favorite.

And then I'm too full at the end, so I always order it first.

-[Erica] I think that obviously we have an amazing menu here.

We have an amazing chef.

The food is wonderful.

So you're going to get a great meal when you're here.

But I also think that they come because they do feel like they're at home.

I think it's a very comfortable, familiar place for them to be.

-[Taylor] Yeah.

It's great.

Like like it says, it's a Speakeasy.

It's kind of underground.

You'll you can drive by it ten times and never know it's here.

If you don't know, you know, in the outside of the building, it looks just like a regular old building in this town.

And you walk in and the vibes are immaculate.

(jazz music)