Ryan Hooper, owner of mobile bartending service Hops and Bubbles and the Hoop and Barrel bar in Midland, said there are very different rules for their two venues, and different types of events.
“When you do an offsite, like last night we did an offsite here at the Bush Convention Center, and the way they explained it to me is essentially that it is an extension of your bar,” said Hooper on a recent edition of the Best of Midland Podcast. “So just like in a bar where you can't bring outside alcohol in, you can't allow outside alcohol in."
“Kind of an oddity they mentioned, like if we do a private party at someone's house and we're the ones that provide the alcohol, we're allowed to do it, but any existing alcohol they would technically have to remove from the house because it is not stamped with our TABC,” the certification from the state of Texas that permits vendors to serve alcohol, Hooper explained. “So that's why most private parties people do on their own.”
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.