This new Columbus-area ice cream shop is home to a secret, 90s-themed speakeasy

If you try to grab a Coke from the on-site vending machine of the recently-opened location of CRMD in Lewis Center, there’s a chance you end up with a Coke and whiskey instead.

As revealed in an Instagram video earlier this week, the aforementioned vending machine isn’t actually dispensing drinks: It’s a door to a secret speakeasy. The hidden door leads to an immersive, neon-patterned hallway, ending at a small “secret” bar with a handful of seats.

According to CRMD co-owner Ben Stoyka, the Evans Farms speakeasy is the first  in a line of companion concepts that the ice cream shop plans to introduce alongside all new CRMD locations.

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“We’ve wanted to do this for years. Now, every store we open, moving forward, we’ll do a different concept alongside it,” he said.

The new speakeasy is called DRNK, which according to Stoyka plays off the CRMD name, while purposefully remaining a bit ambiguous.

“It can mean ‘drink’, ‘drank’ or ‘drunk,’ which we have on a neon sign in there, but it can also mean a few other things,” Stoyka said.

Just like its sister concept, DRNK focuses on high-end ingredients (opting for top-shelf booze), and even finds a way to incorporate ice cream from CRMD.

“We have a drink that uses some of our coffee ice cream. It makes the texture almost like a milkshake,” Stoyka said. “It’s incredible.”

DRNK is currently open daily from 4 p.m. until close, although its hours may receive an upgrade once the summer arrives.

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