Ryan Hooper, owner of mobile bartending service Hops and Bubbles and the Hoop and Barrel bar in MIdland, they pursued their business idea “during the pandemic” because “everyone's just drinking on their back porch at two in the afternoon because there's nothing else to do.”
“We just thought ‘oh it would be really cool if we did this,’ because we were like, ‘I miss going and getting a cocktail,’ you know what I mean” said Hooper on a recent edition of the Best of Midland Podcast. Hoop and his wife said during the pandemic they were getting “cocktail kits” from a local bar that was “doing gimlets, and so we got one and Ash was like well this is what you're making me until we're allowed out of the house.”
“The idea kept repeating itself of like, it really would be awesome if someone drove up in a truck or a trailer and would serve us drinks.” Hooper said.
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.