Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrell and Yamilee.
Hi Terrell and Yamilee, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
So, I (Yamilee) have been bartending for about 16 years now. I always did it part-time while in school and always as a side hustle! It was always a great way to make extra income. From small bars and private events, I learned a lot about the hospitality industry. Let’s fast forward to March 2020. Covid hit, everything shut down, and my now fiancé Terrell and I were both working from home. Of course, Covid was a difficult time for everyone to get used to. From when we met in 2019, we both had a love for tequila. We would try different tequilas every other week and come up with amazing cocktails in the house. It got to a point where we posted so many different tequilas we said, why not make a page. We came up with @Teamoquila, which stood for ‘I love Tequila’! We ended up growing our page pretty quickly. Since bars and a lot of places were shut down, we decided to make a few signature cocktails during the weekend. We literally were sold out every weekend and quickly realized we were creating a serious demand for our drinks, and from that point on, we knew that this could be extremely lucrative. But it was just fun for the moment. Something to keep us busy! As things started to open up again, I continued to work private events but also saw the need for virtual and a lot of home-based events. Celebrations were becoming more intimate after Covid. By the end of 2021, I started a business page, ‘BYOB Cocktails,’ which stands for ‘Be Your Own Bartender.’ I wanted to do cocktail classes but ship kits to people or do virtual classes. We attempted to do classes in Brooklyn, but every time, it just never fell through, so I didn’t give it my all. Even though I knew it was possible, I said, hmmmm, idk I love the idea, but it is the right time. The start of 2022, we had talks about moving to Houston. In my journal, I had tons of ideas about the business I wanted us to start. I knew, of course, we would be mobile, but how could we be different? How could we bring our Brooklyn Vibe to Houston and create something awesome? I knew for sure the cocktail classes were #1 on our list! We wanted people to be able to book an experience. Of course, one day out to dinner, Rell said, ‘Mood Mobile Bar’ is the name! I said wow, that name is it! I literally screamed. My friends and I would always say MOOD anytime we were excited about something and that’s how I felt when we heard Mood Mobile Bar. We had our first private event in Houston, August 2023! A group of friends traveled from ATL that found us on TikTok. They trusted us without seeing a class! We got to host our first class! The rest is history!”
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A smooth road? Ha (laughing) “Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor.” With that being said, honestly, the transition from the known to the unknown always comes with obstacles. Imagine living in a place all of your life, being around friends, family, and familiar opportunities, and let’s not forget jobs that we both spent years working at to leave that all behind to move to Houston. People thought we were crazy, and that move was too drastic, but little did they know our vision goes beyond New York. To achieve our definition of true success and entrepreneurship, we had to leave New York to get out of our comfort zone! If we didn’t, we would be stuck in the same routine for years. We have a mantra that we live by, and that is “Take the risk or lose the chance,” and that’s exactly what we did. We took that risk and haven’t looked back since! There will be days you question your choices & ask yourself is it worth it but those are the days that give you the armor you need to keep going. Through it all, we have been thankful for our clients, and by God’s Grace, we keep pushing.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Mood Mobile bar mission is simple. To add a touch of sophistication and a splash of excitement to your events. We specialize in Mobile Bar services as well as Private Mixology classes. What sets us apart is our uniqueness when it comes to our classes. We are a Mood!!! When clients leave our events, they are always in great spirits, and that is our goal. We are more than just a cute cocktail. Not only are our classes fully customizable as far as cocktail kits, themes, etc. We want our clients to be fully part of the planning process. From curating their own cocktail to making the class educational, fun, and super personable. We want every event to end in memorable experience!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Our goal by the summer is to grow our team outside the Houston area. We plan to expand throughout the state of Texas. Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, see you soon. Ultimately, we want the state of Texas to Have a Mood Mobile Bar experience!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mood_mobilebar
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552175066106&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@moodmobilebar?_t=8lGPc8Jq8Qk&_r=1
