Ryan Hooper, owner of mobile bartending service Hops and Bubbles and the Hoop and Barrel bar in Midland, said managing a brick and mortar cocktail bar is much more difficult than a mobile bartending service.
“Actually, for like so long of my life, I've said I always wanted to open up a bar, I can't wait, I want to open a bar,” said Ryan Hooper on a recent edition of the Best of Midland Podcast. “then when we started the mobile bar thing, I was like no!”
“He told me I do not ever want to open up a bar,” Ryan’s wife Ashton Hooper said.
“The mobile thing is so controllable,” Ryan explained. “Every event you know what you're getting into, you can manage your costs really well. I mean pretty much you're not spending money aside from like the trailer and just various maintenance. For the most part you're not spending money until you're making money.”
Husband and wife duo Ryan and Ashton Hooper started Hops and Bubbles, a mobile bartending service, in 2020. The service is available for weddings or other events. They were recently able to open Hoop and Barrel in Midland, a brick and mortar extension of their business focused on tapas and craft cocktails.
Best of Midland Podcast is hosted by Ryan Shewchuk and Terra Avery. It is an extension of the broader Best of Midland program, which aims to support small, local businesses by showcasing them and the people behind them. Their website lists top business and upcoming live events happening in the area.
The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.