How do you get into de Kelder Speakeasy?
We have not confirmed it. de Kelder Speakeasy is in the directory because it calls itself a speakeasy, and that is the whole of what we can stand behind about its door.
The drinks at de Kelder Speakeasy
How the venue describes itself: “De Kelder Speakeasy is an intimate basement bar featuring elevated drinks and homemade appetizers. It’s the perfect atmosphere for cocktail hour, date night or a night cap. Open to guests 21 and older.” (from its own website, retrieved 9 October 2026)
The current drinks list is published on the venue’s own site — see the menu.
Beyond what the venue publishes we have not verified a list, so what follows is the period rather than the bar: Bronx, Monkey Gland, and Hanky Panky are all drinks of this era, and each links to its origin and its build.
Where de Kelder Speakeasy sits
de Kelder Speakeasy is in Pella, Iowa, in Marion County, in the Midwest of the United States.
This is currently the only verified hidden bar our directory lists in Pella. If you know another, tell us.
Iowa holds 16 listed venues in this directory. See them all on our Iowa speakeasy guide.
Prohibition in Iowa
Iowa did not wait for the federal government. Statewide prohibition took effect here in 1916, four years before the Eighteenth Amendment came into force nationally on 17 January 1920. By the time the Volstead Act was being enforced across the country, Iowa already had an established illegal trade and the habits that went with it.
More on the period in our history of Prohibition in Iowa.
What the newspapers recorded in Iowa
Searching the Library of Congress run of Iowa newspapers for speakeasy, blind pig and bootlegger across 1920 to 1933 returns dated pages anyone can open. These are from Iowa:
- Evening times-Republican, January 23, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Decorah-posten og ved arnen, January 30, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat, February 17, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Evening times-Republican, March 10, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
Planning a visit
You can reach de Kelder Speakeasy by phone on (641) 780-8132, through its own website, and on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
The address is 621 Franklin St, Pella, IA 50219. Open in Google Maps.
What we have confirmed
For de Kelder Speakeasy we hold street address, telephone number, official website, social accounts, and a published drinks list. We do not yet hold opening hours, an online booking link, or a listed-building record.
It is in the directory because its own name calls it a speakeasy and the description in the source data describes it as a speakeasy.
Overture Maps carries this venue; OpenStreetMap has no matching record.
The source data classifies the premises as a bar.