Owning a bar is not for the faint of heart. It requires vision, attention to detail, patience and a willingness to be metaphorically kicked in the head by a litany of problems you did not see coming.
Now take most of the headaches of owning a bar—and put that collage of challenges on wheels.
Mobile bartender services are booming, with annual sales at roughly $1.8 billion nationally; that number is expected to more than double by 2034.
This growth in mobile bars is driven by a few factors. One is that people are looking for more immersive experiences at weddings. With mobile bars, you get the luxury of a quality cocktail and bar experience—all while chatting it up with your weird uncle. The other factor is the festival effect: the idea that people want Coachella-style drink experiences that they can photograph and post on social media. The world is bursting with demand for unforgettable signature cocktails and drink experiences.
With summer quickly approaching, I chatted with two intrepid mobile bar teams—one with a few summers under their belt, and another that is just getting started.
For the past five years, John and Shannin Blomquist, owners of Pizen and Wine Mobile Thirst Parlor, have spent their summers in a renovated vintage horse trailer serving cocktails. They decided to take their years of bar experience on the road for a simple reason: “We have always wanted to be our own bosses,” John said. “We wanted to be able to choose our own schedule, build a brand, connect with customers, make friends and have financial freedom.”
In 2019, they found themselves a vintage 1973 Miley horse trailer, and its personality began to shape their concept.
“We were writing down quotes from the movie Tombstone as cocktail names and thinking in a more rustic and rural fashion about our aesthetic,” John said.
This rustic vibe quickly became a hit, and soon, they both quit their full-time jobs to focus on growing their business. With their dream of working for themselves fulfilled, John and Shannin now faced a new challenge: working for themselves.
“Turns out, when you’re your own boss, you schedule yourself double, work harder and always focus on growth and improving your product,” John said.
The Pizen and Wine planning season starts in November, when John and Shannin meet with engaged couples, venues, event planners and others. Then the fun starts when the weather warms up.
“The truck is a lot of planning, organization, shopping, cocktail prep, cutting, juicing, loading, lifting, traveling, unloading and setting up,” John said. “After the event, we are tearing down, reloading, returning to base, unloading, emptying the trailer, cleaning coolers, dishes, kegs, containers, sleeping—and back to planning for the next event.”
Think of it like preparing for camping—but for 200 people, and sometimes four times a weekend.
“We don’t do it because it’s easy work and easy money,” John said. “We work hard, and we like to take someone’s vision of their events and make it great.”
Launching this May is Fresh Out Bev Co., a new mobile cocktail truck from co-owners Marcos Leon and Reno Tischler. They have a vintage Ford C750 tap truck, which had a previous life as an event truck for a local beer distributor.
“This truck has seen more booze being consumed than Reno’s and my lifetime combined,” Leon said.
Unlike many other trucks in the mobile bar space, Fresh Out Bev Co. will feature all drinks on draft, with eight tap handles and room for 15 to 25 kegs in the back. The truck is a walk-in fridge on wheels.
“This truck has seen more booze being consumed than (my partner) Reno’s and my lifetime combined.”
Fresh Out Bev Co. Co-owner Marcos Leon, on their Ford C750 tap truck
“It is a beast meant for this exact purpose—draft cocktails, draft soda, wine, beer. You name it; we want to have it,” Leon said.
The Fresh Out Bev Co. concept is not only to focus on events like weddings, but also to help expand the beverage footprint for other local businesses.
“Our mission at public events is more of a grab-and-go concept, and making sure we always try to collaborate with other local food vendors or local restaurants so people can enjoy our drinks with their meal,” Leon said.
I asked Leon how they’ve been preparing for the season.
“With this being our first year, we are figuring everything out,” Leon said. “We are learning so much before we launch the truck this May. We are making some real progress, getting into the final stages with the painting of the exterior and installing the draft system.”
It fills me with so much joy to see these teams take their visions for amazing cocktails to the people—but it is also important to recognize their hard work. It takes planning, discipline, vision and a love of drinks that most people will never understand to bring the bar to you. But as the artist Tom Sachs said, “The reward for good work is more work.”
So, here is to more work from some great people.
Fresh Out Bev Co.’s launch party is scheduled for noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, May 3, at The Village at Idlewild Park apartment complex, at 1450 Idlewild Drive. Learn more at freshoutbev.com and @freshoutbevs on Instagram.
To find out more info on Pizen and Wine Mobile Thirst Parlor, check out www.PizenandWine.comand @PizenandWine on Instagram.
