Michael Fullington wants to make you smile.

Fullington’s probably helped you get a drink in State College before. He’s been involved in bars around the town, from the Phyrst to Champs to Local Whiskey. After spending time in Denver and away from his hometown, Fullington’s returned to State College with all his chips in a new basket.

Fullington is in the final stages of opening his next bar and State College’s lone speakeasy: the Hideaway Electric Speakeasy, “where secrets are sipped.”

Everything about the Hideaway, which is eyeing a tentative Saturday, February 22, opening, is different. Even its hours, which run from 4:44 p.m. to 2:22 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 9:19 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, are different.

The basement bar, which sits at 127 E. Calder Way, is split into two sections. One, Mr. Pink’s Speakeasy, opens to College Avenue and is meant for all-day seated dining. The KitKat Club, which is on the Calder Way side of the bar, is meant for seated dining until 9:30 p.m. when the tables are taken away to make room for a dance floor.

Imaginative artwork decorates the walls, lights of all colors dance off the ceiling and walls, LED lights point you to bathrooms and photo-op locations, multi-colored cats that tell you what time it is, several lion statues meant to protect the speakeasy, and a rotary phone sits on the wall so you can call your mom while having a cocktail.

Oh, and that’s all without mentioning the urinals that double as bar games set to arrive in the fall.

Fullington sold his shares in his other bars around town and purchased the Hideaway, which is taking over the former location of Jax Bar & Kitchen. He brought with him a team from around the country and State College that’s worked to make their new bar fit their vision.

Fullington has his own nickname: Mr. Pink. Everyone else on his team has a nickname, too. Lydia Delaney is Ms. Violet, Fullington’s sister, Cassandra Fullington, is Ms. Rose-Gold, Karen Miranda and Bryan Pierzga, who moved from Las Vegas to help with opening the bar, are Ms. Scarlet and Mr. Green, respectively.

Daniel Cutshall, known as “Cutty,” is Chef Gold. Fullington’s DJs, Alex Nepa and Jason Downey, are Mr. Blue and Mr. Grey. A slew of others with bar and restaurant experiences, each with their own color-based names, are chipping into the cause.

In total, the Speakeasy expects to employ around 60 staff members.

The folks behind the Hideaway know they’re different in a college town without many bars that look like theirs. They feel it’s a necessity.

“If they didn’t before they got here, they’ve already been changing,” Fullington said about his bar-goers. “I think a little bit more positive in life, a little bit happier. And that’s what we’re trying to do to town, that this energy we want to spread, just start going out, like it’s a superhero movie or something. I’m excited to see what kind of positive vibes we can throw in, and what kind of change we can make in this town.”

In typical speakeasy fashion, the Hideaway will have a passcode. For Fullington and Co., they want their customers to get out of their comfort zone.

“Our first password, you got to tell the door guy you love him. You say, I love you. And the door guy is going to, and my door guys are excited about it,” Fullington said. “They’ve been figuring out ways to say, I love you back and having fun with it.”

Another key difference between the Hideaway and other bars around town: a dress code.

No sweatpants will be allowed in the bar. The more someone dresses up, the lower their cover.

The bar will have a $20 cover every night for those entering the speakeasy from Calder Way after 9 p.m. However, that cover will be reduced to $10 for those who dress up nicely and won’t apply to those entering for dinner from College Avenue before 9 p.m. Additionally, the speakeasy won’t use LineLeap, meaning its cover rates will remain constant.

“We want everybody to really bring the best version of themselves, the thing they have in the closet they always wanna wear,” Delaney said. “You don’t show up looking scrubby. When you put it all together, it’s bringing the best version of yourself, and that affects your energy. And when you look good, you feel good.”

The Hideaway isn’t quite ready to announce its drinks and food menus yet, but promised that both will be one-of-a-kind. Miranda and Pierzga, the pair of mixologists who moved to State College from Las Vegas, have put together an exclusive menu of drinks they said couldn’t be found anywhere else in State College.

Additionally, the Hideaway will bring back sex trivia on Wednesdays, which made State College bar-goers love Jax and the bar that came before it, the Darkhorse Tavern.

Perhaps the Hideaway’s feature for its guests: they must be happy.

“People needed a place to escape and feel free. And that’s kind of what people really, I think, want, but they just don’t have anywhere to do it,” Fullington said. “And I just wanted to give people a place to do that…give them a place to come and celebrate a breakup. Instead of coming to bitch about a breakup. If it’s a pub, it’s meant to go bitch about somewhere. This is to come celebrate about a breakup. I challenge anyone to have a bad day in here.”