Meet Rachel Carlson of The Traveling Spirit in Central Houston, Inside the loop

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Carlson.

The Traveling Spirit, Houston’s first mobile bar is finally here!
Originally, an ordinary 1960’s cardinal caravan camper, “Betsy” has now been converted into a bar that can go anywhere. “Betsy” is equipped with three serving windows, a two keg tap system serving up your favorite brews or custom cocktails on tap, wonderful lighting, and a loveseat that is perfect for photo shoots.

The Idea
The owner, Rachel Carlson, came up with the idea for The Traveling Spirit Mobile Bar a year ago when she realized she needed a creative outlet that brought her culinary career and management experience together. Rachel has over fifteen years of experience in the restaurant, bar, and hotel industry that began when she attended school at The Culinary Institute of America. After cooking in many prestigious restaurants in Austin, Nantucket and Washington D.C., Rachel decided it was time to move back to her hometown of Houston where she made a shift to focus on her serving and event planning skills.

After working at various restaurants and venues in Houston, Rachel realized the city needed a better option than the same old catering bar with store-bought mixers and juices. After tons of research, Rachel decided that she could offer something more. She could offer a bar that was extraordinary creating custom cocktails and using only homemade ingredients and freshly squeezed juices to make events extra special. This is where the idea for the Traveling Spirit and “Betsy” the camper came in.

A Family Affair
Once Rachel had the idea, she knew she needed help to bring everything together. After the camper was purchased and realizing that it was not structurally sound, Rachel worked with her brother-in-law and his best friend to completely rebuild the camper from the ground up. After six months of hard work, it was finally completed. “Betsy” the camper is lovingly named after Rachel’s mother who died from breast cancer in 2013.

Mobile Bar 101
So… what exactly is a mobile bar you might ask? It’s a bar that allows you to serve cocktails, wine, beer, mocktails, and coffee to your guests in a unique and memorable way. Prior to each event, Rachel offers a tasting with the host to solidify the menu. After the menu is chosen, Rachel creates a shopping list for the host with specific amounts of wine beer and liquor needed. On event day, the host will provide all of the alcohol, while Rachel and her team of professional bartenders will bring everything else needed to have an amazing bar experience. This includes recyclable cups, ice, custom menu signage, decorations and house-made syrups, shrubs, bitters and garnishes for those specialty chosen cocktails.

Whether you’re hosting a wedding, corporate event or backyard barbeque The Traveling Spirit is the perfect addition to any special occasion! The best part is Betsy can be used for more than just a bar. It can be used for photo shoots, a lounge area, or even to serve desserts. Whatever you can think of Betsy can do!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This experience has had many struggles and learning experiences along the way.

I had originally hired a longtime friend and past coworker who has a construction background to complete the build. We were on a 12-week schedule and after 16 weeks and no more than a shell of a camper he quit. With very little money left and not a lot of options, my brother in law, Darren and his friend Brandon stepped in. It took us 8 weeks with Darren driving in from Austin every weekend on Friday night and leaving Sunday night to complete the job. We had to YouTube and google everything-plumbing, electrical, cabinetry but we got it done! It’s not exactly as I envisioned it but I love it that much more knowing I had a hand in every piece of the build.

Everything about this business, I’ve been learning as I go. I had to buy a new car to pull the camper and practice A LOT to learn how to maneuver and back it up. I’ve created the website, am in charge of all social media, cocktail R&D, Prep and I bartend all of the events with the help of friends and coworkers.

Please tell us about The Traveling Spirit.
The Traveling Spirit is a mobile bartending business. We provide a one-of-a-kind bar service at any event without the vintage camper. Whether it be weddings, corporate events, holiday parties or backyard BBQ’s. We are a BYO bar business which means the host or event planner will provide the alcohol and we will provide everything else. We make all of our own syrups, shrubs, bitters and fresh squeeze all of our juices. We want to elevate the bar experience for a memorable event that guests can’t stop talking about! Not only do we provide beverage services but the bar can be rented out for an ice cream bar, dessert bar, oyster bar… the possibilities are endless!

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I bought a 1960’s camper and was hoping I could just renovate it… it turns out 60-year-old campers aren’t the safest things, so we ended up having to completely rip down the entire thing, re-weld, flip the axle and rebuilt the whole thing from the frame up. If I had to do it again I would buy a new flatbed single axle trailer and build up from there- oh, and get a professional to do it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.travelingspiritbar.com
• Phone: 281-620-3545
• Email: Rachel@travelingspiritbar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelingspiritbar/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelingspiritbar/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-traveling-spirit-houston?osq=the+traveling+spirit

Image Credit:
Photos Brianne Hardcastle, Venue The Gin at Hidalgo Falls, Rentals Southern Stages Rentals, Stockton customs, and rentals

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