Speakeasies were known as illicit liquor stores or night clubs. The term "speakeasies" comes from someones ordering of alcohol without raising suspicion--a bartender would tell a customer to be quiet and "speak easy" meaning not to draw any suspicion towards buying alcoholic beverages by looking nervous or talking quickly. Speakeasies were a hidden section of an establishment that were used to illegally sell alcohol during Prohibition, there was also singing and jazz performances.

Normally the speakeasies revolved around gangs who tended to supply the liquor, particularly Al Capone and his gang. Bartenders were often in cahoots with these gangs, in concealing these hidden saloons. 

Speakeasies in the 1920s