This is so frikkin’ cute. That’s what people say when they see the Ta-Da! Travel Bar. Because it is cute, and there’s booze inside.
When this Piaggio Ape was imported from the U.K. during the pandemic, it was a bright yellow rickshaw and has since been retrofitted to be a very small bar that can drive around and serve you whatever drink you like from a tap.
While you won’t see this bar flying down the highway, it can be transported to the location of your party, explains Jennifer Colon, a Middleburg local and owner of the Ta-Da! Travel Bar. She imagined the bar into existence during the pandemic and launched it in 2021. And it does drive — if you’re curious — up to 30 miles per hour.
“It is Italian-made, built on a Vespa motor, and you find them in Europe a lot, navigating the narrow streets to deliver food and flowers,” says Colon. “I was doing some research and was thinking about something I wanted to do — I have that entrepreneurial spirit — and I saw this and thought: ‘Just take the risk. Just do it, because you might not get that opportunity again.’”
While they didn’t book a ton of events during COVID, the business is ramping up this fall, serving all areas of the DMV. If you’re looking to wow your guests by having the Ta-Da! Travel Bar show up at your next event, you can book them for blocks of three hours, five hours, or seven hours, or a half- or whole day.
Prices vary by the amount of time the bar is booked, ranging from $800 to $1,400 per event. There is no minimum for the number of people the bar will serve, so, theoretically, if you want to day-drink at your home with your friends one Saturday, you can book Ta-Da! in advance. With the price points, it would probably be less than spending five hours day-drinking at the bar with your five friends. Not that many folks really do that, ahem, but we’re just thinking things out for you.
The bar normally uses sixtels (which is a sixth of a keg) but it can accommodate larger kegs if requested. It has six taps that can serve beer, cocktails, mixed drinks like sangria, or even coffee. Take note that the travel bar doesn’t stock snacks, so make sure you’ve got appetizers and munchies to fill your friends’ appetites.
For larger events, Colon and her fiancé, Alan, will bartend, but for most events, they use the caterer’s bartenders or subcontract bartenders for the day.
“The Ta-Da! Travel Bar makes people happy,” says Colon. “They stop, jump out of their cars, and take photos with it. We got the name because that’s what my fiancé and I say when we show up to a party. Like, ta-da! We’re here!” And there it is.
Feature image courtesy Visit Loudoun // Neal Alfano Photography // Miles Partnership
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