The apartment building bootlegger
Another type of bootlegger set up business in an apartment bar, usually in the building in which he resided. Two apartments were part of the scheme, near the top of the building, on separate floors. The upper floor apartment was used for the storage of liquor and was often listed under another name, a privilege for which the landlord was handsomely paid. The apartment below was furnished elaborately, with tables and chairs, settees and divans, and sometimes staffed by waiters who would serve food, cigars, and cigarettes, but no drinks. Only one or two bottles of liquor would be in the apartment at a time, kept in the kitchen.
When a guest arrived and ordered a drink containing alcohol, the bootlegger would invite him into the kitchen. Multiple guests were taken to the kitchen one at a time, served a drink, and then returned to the furnished guestroom to mingle with the other guests. In this manner, only two people were in the kitchen and saw the alcohol poured, the bootlegger and the purchaser. There were no other witnesses in the event that the apartment was visited by unwanted guests wearing police uniforms or carrying badges from federal agencies. In the event of a raid, all the police would discover was one or two partly empty bottles.
The apartment bootlegger sometimes operated out of hotels as well, known to the concierge, who was well tipped by the guests who wished to visit it as well as by the bootlegger operating it. Concierge service provided additional security, since the arrival of the police through the lobby would be noted, and upon arrival at the rooms the police would find the evidence disposed of and the guests dispersed. The apartment/hotel bootleggers were usually independent of the larger syndicates, who allowed them to operate because they were selling the liquor provided by the syndicates, and were easily moved about town if the authorities got too close.