

Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth Allen.
Hi Seth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
What started as a love for craft cocktails and live music slowly became a dream of creating something truly special in downtown Lee’s Summit. We wanted more than just a bar or a music venue — we wanted a place where artistry and hospitality could meet under one roof.
Libations & Company opened with that idea in mind: an intimate, vintage-inspired cocktail bar dedicated to seasonal ingredients, local farms, and the kind of craftsmanship you just can’t rush. Upstairs, The 1909 Club soon followed — a listening room where Kansas City’s best jazz, blues, and soul musicians could play for an audience that values the music as much as the drinks in their glass.
What started small has grown into a destination for people looking for an elevated night out — whether it’s a handcrafted cocktail built around what’s fresh at the farmers market or a night of world-class live music just steps away from home. Our goal has always been the same: to bring people together over great drinks, great music, and an experience worth remembering.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Like most small business owners, we started with a vision that felt bigger than the resources we had. Renovating a historic building, learning the rhythms of the hospitality world, and introducing something new to our community all came with challenges we didn’t always see coming.
There were nights when we wondered if anyone would show up, days when the sound system wouldn’t cooperate, and seasons where staffing or timing felt like an uphill climb. We’ve had to learn, sometimes the hard way, how to balance creativity with consistency, and how to stay true to what makes this place special even when the easier path would have been to compromise.
But every challenge made us sharper. The struggles pushed us to refine the cocktails, elevate the music experience, and focus on the details that people have now come to love about Libations & Company and The 1909 Club. In hindsight, those hard moments were what gave this place its soul.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What we do today grew out of a simple idea: that a night out could be more than just a drink or a song — it could be a memory. At Libations & Company, we craft cocktails with the same care an artist gives a canvas. Every menu begins with the season, with what’s growing in our local fields, with flavors that feel alive. We partner with farmers and makers right here in the community, so each drink tells a little story about where it came from.
Upstairs at The 1909 Club, the music takes center stage — literally and figuratively. We’ve built a space where world-class jazz, blues, and soul musicians can play for people who come to listen, not just to pass the time. The sound, the setting, the energy in the room — it all works together so that for a couple of hours, you can lose yourself in the experience.
What makes us proudest isn’t just the cocktails or the music on their own, but how they come together. There aren’t many places where you can taste a drink crafted from that morning’s farmers market and hear a Grammy-winning saxophonist in the same evening. We’ve worked hard to create a place where craftsmanship matters, where guests feel like they’ve discovered something rare and unforgettable. That’s what sets us apart — the belief that details, when done right, can transform an ordinary night into something worth remembering.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What we love most about Lee’s Summit is the sense of community. There’s something special about being in a place where people genuinely support local businesses, where the farmers market is a Saturday tradition, and where neighbors still greet each other by name. The historic downtown has a charm all its own — the kind that inspires you to create something unique because you know people here will appreciate it.
If we had to pick something we like least, it would be that sometimes change comes slowly. Introducing new concepts — like a craft-cocktail bar and a true listening-room music venue — takes time for people to fully discover and embrace. But honestly, that’s also part of the reward. When it finally clicks, when the community rallies behind it, you know it’s because they really value what you’ve built.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.givedrink.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libationscompany