“I just continue to find my way back to bartending,” says Tina Barnard. It’s a thread that connects her life starting with college in Arizona, a move to San Diego, cross-country road tripping in an RV, and ultimately settling in Fuquay-Varina.
“One thing I love most about bartending is the connection it brings,” Tina says. “Our world and lives are all moving so fast; sometimes we forget to actually live, soak it in, and slow down. I believe that’s where bartending or serving a drink comes into play — the drink itself is awesome, but it’s the talking, mingling, and conversation that reminds us to be in the moment, to really enjoy this life and those around us while we have it.”
You might recognize Tina from her days behind the bar at My Way Tavern. About a year ago, a new ambition started to take root.
“I want to continue bartending, but I want it in a different way. I feel like there’s a calling for something different,” she says.
“Working for somebody else, you can only create so much. You have limits. There was always this piece in me thinking, ‘I could just do this on my own and make the drinks that I want to make that I think would be really good.’”
After seeing mobile bars pop up in other states, Tina wondered, “Why is nobody doing this around this area?”
After a loving push from her fiancé, Jeremy Danner, who drove to Georgia to source a ready-to-roll bar trailer, BoozeHound Mobile Bar was primed to shake up the local cocktail scene.
The bar trailer pops up at backyard gatherings, receptions, corporate events, and more.
“With a mobile bar, you can go anywhere and you have a lot more creativity, depending on the event.”
“We’ve done anything from weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, corporate events, and even real estate open houses,” says Tina.
“If you call BoozeHound and you say: ‘I’m having a Barbie-themed party. I want pink shots and I want margaritas,’ we can literally make that whole menu happen. It’s so fun.”
Tina selects her flavors and ingredients with care, wanting to provide premium drinks, both alcoholic and non.
“The syrups are all handcrafted. You can tell that there’s a difference,” she says.
Menu favorites include her Brown Sugar Vanilla Espresso Martini, bright and bubbly Lavender Spritz, and the Crimson Verde, an elevated take on a watermelon margarita.
The name BoozeHound is a subtle nod to Tina’s overflowing love for animals. Polaroids of dogs, including Tina’s “soul dog,” Lulu, hang in the trailer during events. Tina and Jeremy currently foster through Triangle Beagle Rescue and volunteer with Harnett County’s Dog Day Out program. Her long-term goal, bolstered by the success of BoozeHound, is to acquire a pilot’s license to help transport animals from crowded high-kill shelters to more hopeful situations.
www.boozehoundmobilebar.com
@boozehoundmobilebar
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