'Impulsive, wild ride': Peoria business owner takes chance to open new mobile bar
Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star
5 min read
In the Peoria area, a new mobile bar business is hitting the road.
Happenstance Mobile Bar – originally named Taps and Tales – was created by Megan Eilts, who has a long history in the bar and service industry.
“It’s been fun,” Eilts said. “A very impulsive, wild ride.”
The bar comes in the form of a retro, 1940s teardrop camper with a white streak on the side. The little trailer, which is only four by six feet, contains a pullout, u-shaped bar with a tiled pink front and a stained wood top.
Eilts said she “wanted to have a little bit of pop of color and fun” with the design.
Megan Eilts stands with her mobile bar business Happenstance Mobile Bar during a recent event at So Chic Boutique in Morton. Eilts converted a small vintage camper into the bar complete with a built-in ice box.
While the colors on the mobile bar may be bright and cheerful, the concept of the business arose from a challenging point in Eilts’s life.
Eilts had recently returned to work after maternity leave when she and several colleagues were laid off in December 2022. She said the company was one of many in the tech industry cutting jobs.
With two children to provide for, Eilts said she quickly began searching for a new position.
“At the end of the year, two months’ severance in a market where there was already 60,000 people laid off in the same function is a little intimidating and scary,” she said. “And I applied for nearly 200 jobs and barely found one at the last minute.”
Ultimately, the crisis of being without full-time work was averted, but the idea of creating her own business had already begun to form. On the business’s Facebook page, Eilts wrote: “I promised myself I’d never let myself be in that state of panic again and started thinking seriously about side gigs.”
Eilts had worked on and off in the service industry since high school and described herself as “a very extroverted person.” So, operating her own bar service seemed fitting.
After selling her house in Bloomington and moving to the area, Eilts had enough money left over to bring her dream to life.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I'm just gonna do this,’ like, we're gonna go for it,” she said. “So, I drove up into Wisconsin (and) picked up this trailer.”
Eilts said her stepfather and brother worked with her to help renovate the trailer. As she got started, she said she also received helpful advice and insights from another mobile bar business owner.
“It just goes to show that local businesses and small businesses really support each other,” she said. “It doesn't have to be a competition.”
Megan Eilts, owner of Happenstance Mobile Bar, serves customers during a recent event at So Chic Boutique in Morton.
On July 28, Eilts set up outside of So Chic Boutique in Morton for her first public event. Over 40 small businesses participated in the shop’s Parking Lot Party.
Customers at the vendor event could find three mocktails: an appletini, a Moscato pina colada and a gummy bear cooler. Eilts said she wanted to offer fun “fruity” drinks that would also keep customers cool during the hot summer weather.
“I don't want to just throw bottled juices into a drink with some ice and club soda and call it my business,” Eilts said. “Like, I really am intentional about using fresh squeezed juices and trying to find flavors that mix well and can still kind of have that taste and sensation of an alcoholic beverage if and when I'm only doing mocktails.”
Megan Eilts, owner of Happenstance Mobile Bar, pours a freshly-mixed non-alcoholic appletini during a recent event at So Chic Boutique in Morton.
Eilts said she will offer a set list of drink options for each event – rather than operating as an open bar service.
Though she has only been to a couple of events so far, Eilts said she has received “great feedback” from the community. Moving forward, Eilts said she will be attending the Peoria Heights 125th anniversary. She is also scheduling private events.
She described the business as “a luxury service," and said inquiries can currently be sent to happenstancemobilebar@gmail.com. She began leasing an office space on Aug. 1, where she plans to offer consultations and tastings for clients.
“I definitely believe in the relationship aspect, and I want to be integrated into the day and into your experience and the vision that the host has — not just to brand myself,” she said.
Happenstance Mobile Bar remains a part-time gig for the time being. Eventually, though, Eilts hopes the business will pick up enough steam to become a full-time career.
She is already eyeing larger trailers and is developing a website. In the future, she said she would also like to develop her own craft beer. And though the business is newer, Eilts recently rebranded.
Originally Taps and Tales, she said she wanted to avoid confusion with Tazewell Animal Protective Society and animal-based businesses. In a Facebook post announcing the change, she said the new name also fits well with her journey of opening and operating a small business.
"With the way my business is already blossoming, it seems that this name is the perfect fit," she wrote. "I’m in the right place at the right time and we can’t wait to grow with your support."
