How Independence’s new speakeasy vibes tie into the ‘goats and rabbits’ of Kansas City’s past

Revitalization efforts needn’t overwrite history, said Bree and Travis Gensler, whose new venture in downtown Independence aims to infuse spirits of 2024 into the historic square without losing memories of the area’s storied past.

Their latest pour: The Sentinel Room.

Bree and Travis Gensler, The Sentinel Room; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Four years ago, the couple purchased a building on Lexington Avenue that contains three commercial and two loft spaces. When one of their commercial tenants moved out last year, they opened The Marinello — a retail shop with local goods and gifts. In early March — in the space next to the shop — they debuted The Sentinel Room, a whiskey craft cocktail bar that features more than 150 whiskeys, from bourbon to Irish to scotch to Missouri-made.

“We were both born and raised in Independence — at least my side of the family — going back a couple generations,” Bree said. “So the square’s been part of my upbringing all my life. [Travis] also had an insurance agency here for 13 years. So we kind of always knew that we wanted to own a piece of the square to give back to the community and be part of that community.”

The names for their latest community ventures on the square are not random, noted the Genslers, who also operate the Three Trails Lofts in their downtown space and own KC Getaway, a RV rental business. They’ve done their research.

“The Marinello was a shop in that location back in the 1930s,” Bree explained. “We’re still learning about it. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what it was back in the day, but we just really liked the historic connection.”

“Then the Independence Sentinel newspaper was located in this space many years ago,” she said from The Sentinel Room.

The Sentinel Room in Independence; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

On top of the newspaper-themed menu for the whiskey bar, the mustachioed, monocle-wearing rabbit that serves as the brand’s logo/mascot is inspired by a drawing they found in the Sentinel archives at the Jackson County Historical Society, Travis shared.

A vintage-looking sign — made by Fossil Forge in Lee’s Summit — even features the bronze rabbit.

From the archives: How a Lee’s Summit duo is reviving eye-catching signs of KC’s past

The Sentinel Room legend even has it that Sentinel — the rabbit mascot and newspaper editor — shares his stories over neat pour whiskey after putting the newspaper to bed, he continued.

“It ties into the Kansas City, whiskey lore back in the Pendergast era,” Travis noted. “Everything just tied into the goats and rabbits of Kansas City. We’re like, ‘How can we evolve this story of the newspaper being here — because newspapers tell stories — and tie that into the whole whiskey, Kansas City history with prohibition and everything, all the way up to today.’”

Bree said they’ve even tried to recreate that speakeasy vibe, without the back-alley entrance.

“A lot of people refer to it as a cigar-bar feel without the cigars,” she added.

The Sentinel Room in Independence; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Next flight

The Gensler’s inspiration to start the whiskey bar evolved from Travis’ “brothers nights,” they shared, when he and his brother get together to try a new bottle of whiskey and chat.

“It’s all about improving the conversation,” he explained of the goal of The Sentinel Room. “I feel like that’s lost on society because everybody’s on their digital phones. So it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s reconnect as humans’ and a lot of times that happens over good cocktails. That’s where we’d like to go with it — really elevate the community in that process by bringing them together and sharing a good drink.”

The bar features craft cocktails, neat pour flights, a wine selection, charcuterie boards, plus Tiki Takeovers on the first Thursday of every month.

“There’s not really anything like The Sentinel on this side of town,” Bree said. “We knew we wanted to give our customers on this side of town a nice place to have — what we like to think of as — a conversational round.”

Club 33 — The Sentinel Room’s whiskey exploration club — selection at The Sentinel Room; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

The Genslers also just launched Club 33 — The Sentinel Room’s whiskey exploration club — and had people signing up as soon as they listed it on their website.

“We’re trying to get people out of their comfort zone and just try new things,” Travis noted. “Obviously there’s a following for whiskey, but also there’s people that are interested and not really sure exactly how to approach it. So that’s my goal — to create some education, but also at the same time, give people an opportunity to experiment without getting tied into $50 or $100 a bottle.”

The couple also plans to expand — hopefully by the fall — to add a tasting room in their third space, Travis continued. The walls will be lined with whiskey and the extra room will provide space for hosting large groups, as well as tasting clubs, classes, and workshops. All three spaces will be connected. The Marinello already opens up to The Sentinel Room for customers who want to sip and shop or grab a bottle to enjoy at home.

“We’re just trying to create three unique spaces that are connected but also uniquely different in what they do,” he added. “That’s our goal with the whole Marinello experience across the board. If it’s too busy over here, you’ve still got something cool but different in the next space over, so check them all out.”