New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Young entrepreneur brings the party to you
MILFORD — Shannon Dolan expected to go into the criminal justice field after graduating from Lauralton Hall High School, but after some college she took a business risk instead and today at 22 years old is running her own successful Mix & Mingle Mobile Bar.
Dolan’s growing business offers guests two traveling outdoor bar options for now — a red, remodeled horse trailer or a smaller, blue former NYPD meter maid cart with keg taps.
But it isn’t about getting a bar to events that makes her business special — it’s about the creativity the experienced bartender puts into her fresh specialty drinks, customers say.
There’s the Bacon Bourbon Spice cocktail — cooked bacon
(by her), maple and honey bourbon and homemade spiced apple syrup from fresh ingredients. Then there’s her Strawberry Lemonade Whiskey Sour, made with fresh strawberries, lemon juice, a simple syrup and bourbon.
“A lot of men are wary of it,” wondering how strawberries can work in the drink, Dolan said of the latter, but once they taste it, it’s a hit, she said. “I try to do something different so people feel wowed. They’re not going to walk out to the next restaurant and get the same thing.”
Dolan broke into the business in 2019 after experiencing frustration helping to plan her sister’s wedding on Block Island. She said they had to haul the alcohol on the ferry and set it up as a self-service station at the wedding. She found the only thing missing from the outdoor event was the feeling of a full-service bar.
“I decided we needed something better. That was the inspiration for me,” said Dolan, a former longtime bartender at On the Border in Orange.
Dolan loved everything about bartending work — meeting and talking to people, as well as creating drinks. She bought a horse trailer and had it remodeled, and bought the NYPD piece already fitted with taps by a beer loving collector.
“I kind of did this on a leap of faith — I knew I was taking a risk,” Dolan said. “It’s not your standard 9-to-5. It’s always something different.”
It has paid off for the young entrepreneur, who already is looking to expand the business. While it was slow during the pandemic, like all businesses of its kind, “The beginning of this year was absolute craziness,” she said.
She said people who had postponed events were having them and many with weddings and other celebrations were opting to hold them in the yard. She’s done weddings, gender reveal parties, opening nights for bands, birthdays, funerals and even a oneyear-old’s birthday party.
Dolan said they’ve served more than 3,000 people and already are booking into 2022 and 2023. They also soon will have year-round indoor bar setups. Dolan said unlike many mobile bar businesses, she holds a state liquor permit and supplies the alcohol.
The cost of the service is $20$30 per person.
Jordan Parlato said she booked Dolan’s mobile bar over the summer to celebrate her graduation from Syracuse University and was able to customize her own drink package and also name the drinks so they related to Syracuse.
There was a vodka/soda with grenadine called a “Syracutie,” and blood orange margarita
called “Bleed Orange.”
“Not only did the drinks taste amazing but they were garnished perfectly. The Mix & Mingle Mobile Bar really elevated my party and everyone who attended was asking about it all night,” Parlato said. “I’m so glad I had her for the event and will definitely be hiring her again soon.”
Customer Amanda Velazquez said she and her husband had a backyard wedding in July and wanted to enjoy their new home celebrating with loved ones, but didn’t want to deal with the setup and take down of cocktail-making.
“It was the best decision we made,” Velazquez said, noting they had beer, wine, seasonal cocktails, fruit infused water and nonalcoholic cocktails for moms to be. “Throwing a backyard wedding is not for the weary, but come the day of, we didn’t have to worry about anything. Mix & Mingle took care of everything drink-related. We just told her where to park and she did the rest.”
Caraly Schulze and her husband, Mike, hired Mix & Mingle for their recent Milford Porchfest event — and Dolan created the “Sip of Seaflower” drink because they live on Seaflower Road. It was made of fresh raspberries, fresh lemonade and raspberry vodka, and tasted “amazing,” Schulze said.
“They were completely turnkey and were so friendly. We loved supporting a Milford small business and all of our guests were excited to have the bar be a part of our event,” Caraly Schulze said. “The drinks, prices and friendly faces were all right on point. We cannot wait to use them again as they bring your celebration up a notch.”
This holiday young entrepreneur Dolan is trying something different beyond bartending with the red horse trailer. She’ll offer the decorated trailer as a backdrop for mini-photo shoots in Milford and Meriden. She’ll be at Eisenhower Park in Milford Nov. 14 and for $40 people can take their own photos.