Story by James Leigh
Photos by Donald Cross
Kelli Palmer recently started a new endeavor that takes Hot Springs' connection to horses to a new level.
Palmer launched Bubble Box, a mobile bar that is in a converted horse trailer, nearly two months ago after 17 years in administration because she was looking for a change.
"I've always loved the idea of big events and fundraisers and just being involved in those things -- charity fundraisers, different events like that -- and I had a friend who had a mobile bar," she said. "It was just a little satellite bar, basically just a table setup, that sort of thing, and she'd go and do some parties and things. I thought, 'That's really cool.'"
She started researching mobile bars online and found that there is a trend in larger, more metropolitan areas to use converted vehicles as a bar.
"I'm finding this whole concept of kind of thinking outside of the box as far as bringing a bar to you and not just the satellite bar, but actually a horse trailer or an old truck or something that had been converted," she said. "So I started looking and found this converted horse trailer that was kind of almost ready to go in Louisiana. So a friend of mine and I packed up and took a little drive down and brought it back."
While the original idea might have stemmed from a more adult-centered facility, Palmer said that she wanted to include children's events.
"It's not just alcohol," she said. "I mean, it's kids parties, whatever. I mean, we've got a slush machine. We can do all kinds of -- we do mocktails for nonalcoholic parties. It can be anything. It's not just a bar. It's a full-service beverage service."
Palmer said she struggled to find a name for her new business.
"I wanted to convey the idea of fun, so bubbles," she said. "You think Champagne; you think fizzy drinks. And then box -- it's a horse trailer, so it's sort of box-shaped. I thought it was catchy, and I started playing with a logo for it when I came up with it. ... We bring the bubbles in our little box wherever we go."
This venture was something Palmer wanted to make sure she was ready for before the actual launch.
"I knew some people who do catering and events and stuff, and I thought, 'I could get involved in that,'" she said. "And so I did, so that gave me a little bit of experience just trying to come up with this. So I got the trailer in April ... and then by the end of May, I had just started reaching out to a few people. I didn't want to launch anything yet because I wanted to make sure it was I was ready. I didn't want to do it halfway because I thought, 'Just in case it gains traction, I don't want to be unprepared for that.' And I mean, that would be the good problem to have, of course."
Palmer had her first event at Futrell Marine in late June for a fundraiser the business was holding.
"I think just word kind of got around from friend of a friend who had heard that I had the trailer, and I'm like, 'Well, this would be a really great soft launch situation,' where I can see how it goes, work through the kinks, see what it's gonna take, see if this is really what I want to do," she said. "And we had the best time. We've been back out to Futrell Marine for (three) other events."
There is a steep learning curve when opening a new business, and Palmer said she has used several online resources to help.
"I have a lot of resources from online, some different groups that I'm following, and I was intentional about searching out posts from people who have done this and they're like, 'If I could do something different from Day One, here's what I would do,'" she said. "Or 'Here's where our biggest struggle was.' Honestly, one of the more difficult things to come up with is alcohol calculators."
Palmer said these calculators estimate everything from the percentage of drinkers to the estimated amount of garnishes to the amount of hard liquor vs. beer or wine needed, but that has not been the only hurdle.
"Honestly, even just logistically getting the trailer from point A to point B (is a consideration). I have good friends in my corner who've helped me so far with that sort of thing, but that's been a little difficult. And also just not having bartending experience because what we typically do at these events is come up with a signature drink menu. ... But it never fails, people will come up and go, 'Do you have any Jack Daniels? Can you make me a Jack and Coke?' At the first event, we didn't have anything different extra aside from what we knew was on our menu, but we've figured out to try to expand a little bit."
Including children's events stemmed from the thought of using a similar service if there had been something like this when Palmer's daughter was younger.
"I just think back to when my daughter was younger, and if there had been something like this, some little traveling mobile beverage situation, I might have considered something like that," she said. "Because let's say you've got this little girl who's turning 6, and she wants like a princess party -- I mean, we're going to dress the part, too. If it's a themed event -- I mean Fourth of July we dressed to the nines, all the red, white and blue you could ask for, and we decorate the trailer accordingly, too. I don't mind dressing up as a princess if we have that sort of gig."
Custom drinks are available for children's events as well, Palmer said.
"We can come up with all sorts of drinks that are -- just in that situation -- some sort of a juice and ginger ale sort of thing with cotton candy on the top or with little candy garnishes," she said. "With the slush machine, we have so many different options with that. And then we also offer hydration stations, regardless of the type of event, whether it's alcoholic or nonalcoholic, meaning we'll set up like water and tea or lemonade, something like that."
The interest in the business has been the biggest surprise for Palmer.
"I can remember having some photos taken a couple of weeks ago downtown with the trailer, with the window open and all the string lights hanging off of it, and we were just in a random parking lot downtown," she said. "And there were people just coming over and were so interested in 'What is this? Who are you? What are you doing? Do you have business cards? That sounds so fun. Oh, I know somebody's getting married, or we have parties for our this and that all the time.' So just the general interest in it has surprised me, and also it surprised me that there hasn't been anything like it around this area yet."
Palmer said she hopes to expand the business in the future, and she is already considering another trailer.
"I hope to grow this into something that I can continue and expand onto," she said. "I'd like for it to be something that can evolve with trends and fun things that are happening different events. ... I mean, I'm already looking at a second trailer just because I feel like this one's a little small."
At one of the events they worked, Palmer said she and her friend were a bit cramped trying to serve drinks.
"There were about 300 people, and it was just the two of us in the trailer, but what I'm finding is like you step all over each other all the time. It's close quarters, and so logistically, we are kind of figuring that out."
Palmer said the entire process "has been scary," but she is glad she took the leap into starting the business.
"There's not been a single thing in this whole process that I felt like, 'Yep. OK, I've got this,'" she said. "Even just filing for an LLC -- there's information out there, but it seems to be a little vague and there's so many different options and choices and pros and cons to different types of businesses. ... Every step of the way I've thought, 'I'm probably really messing this up. I'm sure I'm making a mistake, and it's going to come back, and it's going to bite me.' ... To anybody who wants to take the leap, you're going to mess it up, but you'll fix it. Give yourself a break. Take the chance. Take the leap."
Bubble Box owner Kelli Palmer, left, and Jennifer Smedley run a mobile bar out of a converted horse trailer.
Bubble Box owner Kelli Palmer serves a drink at a recent event.
Bubble Box owner Kelli Palmer, left, and Jennifer Smedley serve drinks at a recent event.
Bubble Box owner Kelli Palmer said the idea for her mobile bar came from expanding on a friend's idea through online research.
Bubble Box owner Kelli Palmer, left, and Jennifer Smedley will create custom beverages for events as part of their service.
Bubble Box owner Kelli Palmer said the mobile beverage service offers more than just alcoholic beverages and is available for events from weddings to children's parties.