Valentine's Virtual Bazaar: Cocktail Caravan

Love is in the air! Planning an engagement, small wedding or outdoor event? Look no further than Cocktail Caravan to make all of your vintage-inspired bar and decor dreams come true! Added bonus: they provide the perfect opportunity for you and your guests to gather safely outdoors!

Cocktail Caravan is a mobile bartending and event rental company offering handcrafted cocktails from our custom-built bars. They arrive fully stocked with the bar supplies you need, along with the decor and service to impress guests at your next outdoor event. Simply provide the alcohol you want served, and they will handle the rest. They also offer a curated selection of vintage-inspired tables, chairs, and lounge furniture that pair perfectly with our bars.

We were super excited to catch up with co-owner Joey Garofalo to learn more!

How did your business get its start?

Cocktail Caravan served its first party back in 2016 when two sisters, Amanda and Ashley Willis, founded the company and designed the trailer. After several years and a few thousand cocktails later, they decided to sell the business and in late 2019, my brother Chris and I decided to buy the business to expand my existing events company, Beacon Events. Not long after, the pandemic hit and a full calendar of dates either needed to be cancelled or postponed. However by late summer and into the fall, the bar emerged as the perfect solution for backyard parties and slimmed down outdoor weddings. It was a rocky start, but now more than ever people are looking for ways to gather safely at home and our bar provides the perfect outlet.

Tell us more about your business and what products you are featuring for the Valentines Virtual Bazaar?

Cocktail Caravan is equal parts a bartending company and event rental company. Everything we offer is custom built in our workshop and everything we serve uses the freshest ingredients. We can handle parties anywhere from 10-300 people using our fleet of mobile bars including our OG model, the Cocktail Caravan, the brand new Tap Trailer, or one of our custom built boutique bars. For those who are newly engaged or are planning on popping the question soon, get in touch!

Tell us a bit more about yourself! Where are you from and where do you reside and work now?

I was born and raised in Monmouth County but lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn from 2012-2018 where I worked as a concert promoter and event producer. I settled back down in Shrewsbury in August 2018 with my wife, Anna, and we just welcomed our first child in August 2020. I work from my home office mostly unless I'm down at the workshop getting things ready for the next party or working on a new project. I also organize several local 5K races such as Run The Hook and Asbury Park Santa Run and as of this year serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for Clean Ocean Action.

I love all things events so it has been tough seeing everything get cancelled during COVID, but Cocktail Caravan has been a great outlet for people to safely gather outdoors. I'm looking forward to this wedding season where we will hopefully have some return to normalcy and can continue pouring drinks for our amazing clients.

How has Covid19 impacted your business and what do you have in store for 2021?

In the very beginning of 2020, we were booking tons of parties for April-October, but as March approached, the outlook became incredibly bleak and we were faced with multiple cancellations and postponements. Not what you want to see after purchasing a new business! As the summer went on and things started opening back up, the inquiries started coming in and we knew people were ready to start partying again (safely, of course). From August-October we had a full calendar, did everything we could to safely operate during a pandemic, and made the best of it. This included masks at all times, installing plexi-glass on the serving window, and disinfecting everything before, during, and after parties. There was a real demand for parties under 100 people taking place in backyards and outdoor venues and the BYOB nature of our service made it perfect for these pop-up style, last-ditch events. Looking ahead, my goal is to expand our rental offerings into tables, chairs, and lounge furniture, which is already underway, and provide people with quality service at every event we do.

What is your favorite Valentines Day tradition?

Even before COVID, my tradition was always making a delicious home cooked meal for my wife and just spending time together at home. This year we're just hoping the baby stays asleep long enough to have an uninterrupted meal together.