Summer is in full swing, and people have started cooling off with refreshing beverages at beaches and pools around Hampton Roads. With one new local business, now the drinks can come directly to you.
Alexandra Peck and Nicole Sisson, owners of mobile bartending service Bad N’ Boozy, met while working behind the bar at Hot Tuna in Virginia Beach. The two became close friends, even after leaving the restaurant to work office jobs.
Still, they wanted to figure out a way to get back into bartending without working in the service industry. Then, in October, they started working on their own pop-up business.
Peck and Sisson worked their first event in January and have spent the past six months bartending at weddings, business openings, birthdays and graduations.
Bad N’ Boozy has different packages to choose from, including a traditional beer and wine setup and a simple coffee bar. Sisson said they’ve done everything from Margaritaville-themed bars to full mocktail bars.
Due to Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control regulations, customers must provide the alcohol, and Bad N’ Boozy supplies everything else, including cups and mixers.
Bad N’ Boozy offers services throughout Hampton Roads, with extra fees if an event is farther away. Peck and Sisson said they can also just do bartending for customers and venues that already have a bar. Packages range from $400 to $2,000 depending on the add-ons and drinks selected.
Sisson said customers get access to a private cocktail book they can browse, and during consultation, they can go over any themes or aesthetic preferences. Other bartending services may only offer a predetermined drink menu and no setup or mixers.
“We really try to make it a unique experience for every client, and not so cut-and-paste,” she said.
Collaborating on specialized cocktails and packages with clients has also led to getting to know them better, Sisson said.
“Especially for weddings, they’re always really personal. And, you know, the cocktail bar is usually the central place at a wedding or an event — it’s the place where everyone goes to come together,” she said.
Peck and Sisson prep their materials ahead of each event and fit the mixers, mobile bar, side table and decorations into one, sometimes two, cars.
For those looking for a less expensive drink option, they’ve also started offering portable boozy cart rentals filled with “boozy pouches” and “boozy popsicles” that people can take to the beach. Sisson described the pouches as an “adult Capri Sun” that can be filled with drinks like margaritas, crushes and hurricane rum cocktails.
With the summer heating up, they said it has been an especially busy season for Bad N’ Boozy. Peck and Sisson said if business continues to grow, they want to buy a mobile bar trailer.
Peck and Sisson currently work other full-time jobs, but they hope to focus more on their business.
At each event, they each wear a signature uniform of a pink apron over a white button-up. This, Sisson said, is a nod to their work as a women-owned business.
“The industry is a hard thing to be in and, most often, it’s male-dominated, the service industry,” Sisson said. “And so we think the pink is kind of a play on our femininity … and to show we can be bold and empowering and feminine.”
Gabby Jimenez, [email protected]
