Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander McKenzie.
Alex, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’d say the beginning of this story started right out of college. I got offered a job at a local motorsport company that was located right outside of Philadelphia. It was a small company that offered BMW repairs, maintenance, and larger projects where we built high-performance cars. I always had a real passion for automobiles and that job allowed me to be around some really knowledgeable people who shared that common drive. Looking back at my time there I learned a lot about running a small business. Most importantly, with the help of my boss, I grew more confident wrenching on cars. I bought my first “collector” car towards the end of my stay there. It wasn’t the best car but it was simple and cheap enough where I could take it apart with no real risk of regret if I messed it all up. After what I call a quarter life crisis, I quit my job in Philly, cut all ties and flew to California to purchase a very rare, early German collectors car. I drove that down the Pacific Coast Highway and cross country with no timeline or final destination. After three weeks I ended up in Miami visiting a cousin who was studying at UM at the time. That’s was where my road trip ended and I’ve been in Miami ever since.
I kept collecting cars and having what I call my short love affairs. . I’d buy them, restore them to fit my style and then sell them to buy the next. About three years ago I was out to dinner with my girlfriend and my best friend. They both had professions that involved marketing, planning, and logistics of large-scale events. I asked them, “What was missing?”. What I wanted to know was if there was a void? What vendors always fell short? Almost in unison, they both said, “Bar service”. At the time most companies offered some variation of a plastic, pallet wood, or light up acrylic bars with basic cocktails that were overpriced and provided minimal unique, experiences for the consumer. I found a void and decided to be the company that offered specialty cocktails and beers for reasonable prices from a bar that would be an experience for the people who saw and interacted with it. At that time, I was obsessed with the Tiny Home Movement and after some planning, I decided to construct a tiny home that was purpose-built to fill that void. Four Months later, with the support of friends and family we had a 24-foot-long, 13-foot-high, rolling tiny home cocktail bar on wheels. The first in America!
After a lot of back and forth with the city, figuring out licensing and permitting, purchasing the proper insurances, and investing in the concept, we started our first season with a bang. A 4,000 person event christened the Tiny Home cocktail bar. With a stellar team of some of my closest friends, we were able to serve all patrons and make the bar service a raging success. From there we did music festivals, flea markets, concerts, grand openings, Art Basel events and many more for clients who were looking for something unique and memorable.
After a year of large-scale events we started to get requests from clients who wanted to incorporate the unique experience they had with us at a public event into their weddings or private events. Since the Tiny Home was too large, we needed to figure something out. I decided to take one of my classic trucks, my 1957 GMC pickup, and custom build a bar on the bed to be able to service these smaller private events. That’s when Mac’s Pubs really found its identity. My passion for restoring these beautiful, American made trucks paired with the drive to create unique, high quality, memorable experiences for temporary bar service set us on the path we are on today.
Now coming into our fourth season we have four trucks built with two more on the way. We still have our original Tiny Home cocktail bar and are customizing a 60’s vintage horse trailer so be another large-scale bar option. We expect to expand to other states in the near future and continue to bring these antique trucks back to life, repurposing them, and inspiring the nostalgia felt when seeing these classic trucks drive by on the street or roll into their events. We are also opening our first brick and mortar location in the Upper east side, MIMO district before the new year.
Has it been a smooth road?
Like most new businesses we definitely have our speed bumps along the way. I would say the most difficult challenge in the beginning was figuring out and how to do this legitimately. Licenses, insurances, and bar building/upkeep were huge expenses that were a risky investment. We are definitely on the wave of a new industry and for us, there were no predecessors to ask for advice. Figuring out how to build a business in a new industry is super tough but absolutely rewarding.
Staffing was the next challenge. I think Miami is a tough place to find the right team and we are always looking to add talented people.
Lastly, now that we have a small fleet keeping these trucks in running and driving condition is a full-time job in itself. Trucks that are almost 70 years old don’t always want to get up and go when you want them to.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Mac’s Pubs Mobile Bars story. Tell us more about the business.
In simple terms my company offers bar rental and bar catering services. We service small private events as well as large scale events with thousands of attendants. In other words, we offer mobile vibes and libations to create memorable experiences in an industry that has always fallen short.
Say you have a wedding; Couples can choose a bar from our fleet that they love and fits the theme of their wedding (rustic, farm, beach, etc.) We speak to the couple and come up with unique, signature cocktails that fit their tastes, personalities, and facts about them and their story. We even offer tastings for our clients so they can try multiple cocktail ideas and choose which ones they like the best. This would be similar to when couples taste different cakes or meals before the wedding. Its a full experience from start to finish.
Now let’s say you’re planning a music festival and need a bar operator to come in to serve alcohol to your thousands of patrons. An event organizer could rent our large bars for the day or hire us to be the alcohol provider. We bring our larger bars in to be able to serve the high volume needed for a successful service. We also have the proper licenses, insurances, and permits to be able to serve legally in the state of Florida.
I’d say that our company is best known for our custom bars and delicious cocktails. When people go to an event they are blown away by the old trucks that are creatively repurposed to be our bars. Our trucks come from all over the country and the trucks themselves are usually never cosmetically changed from the day we purchased them. For instance, our 1959 Chevy Apache 3800 Farm truck bar; This truck was purchased in Missouri and built with materials from the farm where it worked its whole life. The wood backsplash of the bar, as well as the semi rusted roof panels, came from an old barn that was falling down on the property. It’s those little touches that are the best. The trucks have their own stories and personalities and we want to let everyone experience them. Its what makes me most proud about the concept we have. We love Decorating the bars with antiques that have been picked personally by Mac’s Pubs during our many road trips across America. It all just goes so well together.
Additionally, events guests usually are not expecting to be able to have a quality cocktail or a craft beer and not have to pay an arm and a leg for it. We pride ourselves on being able to offer a variety of fresh cocktails and local craft beers for our customers. The combination of our passions for classic vehicles, repurposing antiques, creating a vibe and style for events, and offering high-quality services and products is what sets us apart.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As of right now, the “Mobile Bar” industry is still very young. We like to think we were one of the first to do it right and with our fleet growing every month we hope to be a leader in this growing industry. In the next 5-10 years, Mobile bars will be something that everyone knows about. I actually would go one step further and say that mobile businesses, in general, will spike and you’ll see more creative, mobile stores, coffee shops, and restaurants. The mobile business industry will replace the food truck craze in the near future.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Macspubs.com
- Phone: 6319491301
- Email: info@macspubs.com
- Instagram: @macspubs
- Facebook: Facebook.com/macspubs
Image Credit:
@Macspubs all photos, (crowd photo @fujifilmgirl)
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