D.C.-based Sea Suite Cruises is planning to introduce a tiki-themed bar cruise to its Richmond operations this spring. (Photo courtesy of Sea Suite Cruises)
With the weather warming up, a pair of mobile bars are launching locally – one by land and another by water.
The terrestrial version is from locally based kids entertainment company PlayRVA, which has modified the fire truck it rents out for kids’ birthday parties to also serve adult customers as a bar on wheels.
Out on the James River, out-of-town cruise company Sea Suite Cruises is planning to launch a tiki-themed river cruise to complement the paddle boat rides it started to offer last year from Rocketts Landing.
PlayRVA rolls out fire truck-based bar
A few months after it bought an old fire truck to rent for kids’ birthday parties, PlayRVA has added two 50-inch TVs, a wine cooler, four beer taps and made space for up to four beer kegs on the truck to broaden the company’s customer base.
The company, which also operates train rides in local malls, debuted the mobile bar in early April at a party hosted by PlayRVA co-owner Taylor Pace.
“The train clientele consists of families with children from infant to 5 years. We wanted to increase sales opportunities, which meant catering to older kids, teens and even adults,” Pace said. “So we got the fire truck to fill that want. It took off with the kids fast, and now we are working to cater to the teens and adults with other truck uses.”
The fire truck that PlayRVA rents out for kids’ birthday parties now also can function as a bar. (Jack Jacobs photo)
Currently the truck operates as a dry bar. People rent the vehicle and stock it with their own alcoholic beverages. Pace said he’s looking into an ABC permit for PlayRVA to be able to serve alcoholic beverages out of the truck.
PlayRVA rents out the truck starting at $250 per hour for kids’ parties. Pace is working on finalizing the fee to use the truck’s bar, but is looking at adding an additional $200 per hour to the rate. Once he has an ABC license, he expects to institute a three-hour minimum and increase the price.
The company also has used the fire truck as a limo alternative for adults for such events as tacky light tours. Pace said the truck is booked for concerts and a football tailgate party in the fall. Future uses of the truck could be as a mobile video game station or for camping.
“We are working to promote this truck as a ‘do-anything-on-it party truck’ and its use is only up to the client’s imagination. You could feasibly even put a band or a DJ on it,” Pace said.
Taylor Pace of PlayRVA. (Photo courtesy of PlayRVA)
PlayRVA currently operates a kids train on the weekends at Regency, which is the company’s home base. It also has trains stationed at Potomac Mills mall in Northern Virginia and Charlotte Premium Outlets outside Charlotte, North Carolina.
It previously offered train rides at Chesterfield Towne Center but once its lease agreement there ended, the company decided not to renew and to move that train to Potomac Mills.
“We wanted a higher traffic space,” Pace said “We thought it was a smart move to go to a bigger place with more opportunity.”
Train ride tickets are $8 at Potomac Mills and $5 elsewhere.
The company briefly operated at a mall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, but discovered state regulations it didn’t want to deal with and decided to leave. Pace said the state required the train to operate within a gated and fenced area, which would have been cost-prohibitive.
Pace co-owns PlayRVA with Proctor Trivette. The company bought its blue-and-white 1994 Pierce Saber fire truck for $17,000 last year. Pace estimated that an additional $4,000 to $5,000 was spent to outfit and modify the truck to create the bar.
Sea Suite Cruises tiki boat prepares to set sail
D.C.-based Sea Suite Cruises is planning to launch a tiki bar boat in Richmond this month or in early May. The new floating bar comes as an expansion of the company’s local presence after it started to offer paddle boat rides at Rocketts Landing last year.
The Tiki Club RVA boat is a custom-built, 40-foot pontoon boat with a thatched roof. The boat will initially operate as a dry bar, meaning customers bring their own alcoholic beverages to enjoy as they cruise on the James River. The company offers a similar service in Washington, where its boats are permitted to be stocked with alcohol by the company itself.
“That’s one thing people really enjoy, being able to bring their own beverages so they can drink what they want,” co-owner Jack Maher said. “(Tiki Club RVA serving alcohol) is something we’re going to explore in the future. Adding that in is a whole business on top of the business. For us, and we followed a similar route in D.C., it was best to start with BYOB to hone operations starting out.”
The company declined to identify the firm that built the Richmond tiki boat but said it cost about $225,000.
The latest addition to local offerings by Sea Suite Cruises, which also provides local paddle boat rides, is a 40-foot pontoon boat with seating for 30 passengers. (Photo courtesy of Sea Suite Cruises)
Sea Suite Cruises owners Maher and Jack Walten said the Richmond tiki cruise boat comes in response to some of its local paddle boat customers who expressed interest in individual and larger group outings. They said it’ll be easier to accommodate those requests on the higher capacity tiki bar boat.
The company’s paddle boat rides in Richmond accommodate at least eight and as many as 20 people, while the Tiki Club boat can hold 30 passengers.
Both types of cruises are an hour and 45 minutes long. Pricing per person varies from $40 to $55 depending on what day of the week the cruise takes place. Both cruises are bring-your-own-beverage and hard liquor isn’t allowed.
Sea Suite kicked off its second season of paddle boat rides in Richmond in early April. Last year, Paddle Club ran locally from Memorial Day to Halloween and did about 450 trips.
The company plans to have a total of 10 boats by the end of the summer. It operates in the Maryland cities of Baltimore and Annapolis in addition to Washington, D.C., and Richmond.
D.C.-based Sea Suite Cruises is planning to introduce a tiki-themed bar cruise to its Richmond operations this spring. (Photo courtesy of Sea Suite Cruises)
With the weather warming up, a pair of mobile bars are launching locally – one by land and another by water.
The terrestrial version is from locally based kids entertainment company PlayRVA, which has modified the fire truck it rents out for kids’ birthday parties to also serve adult customers as a bar on wheels.
Out on the James River, out-of-town cruise company Sea Suite Cruises is planning to launch a tiki-themed river cruise to complement the paddle boat rides it started to offer last year from Rocketts Landing.
PlayRVA rolls out fire truck-based bar
A few months after it bought an old fire truck to rent for kids’ birthday parties, PlayRVA has added two 50-inch TVs, a wine cooler, four beer taps and made space for up to four beer kegs on the truck to broaden the company’s customer base.
The company, which also operates train rides in local malls, debuted the mobile bar in early April at a party hosted by PlayRVA co-owner Taylor Pace.
“The train clientele consists of families with children from infant to 5 years. We wanted to increase sales opportunities, which meant catering to older kids, teens and even adults,” Pace said. “So we got the fire truck to fill that want. It took off with the kids fast, and now we are working to cater to the teens and adults with other truck uses.”
The fire truck that PlayRVA rents out for kids’ birthday parties now also can function as a bar. (Jack Jacobs photo)
Currently the truck operates as a dry bar. People rent the vehicle and stock it with their own alcoholic beverages. Pace said he’s looking into an ABC permit for PlayRVA to be able to serve alcoholic beverages out of the truck.
PlayRVA rents out the truck starting at $250 per hour for kids’ parties. Pace is working on finalizing the fee to use the truck’s bar, but is looking at adding an additional $200 per hour to the rate. Once he has an ABC license, he expects to institute a three-hour minimum and increase the price.
The company also has used the fire truck as a limo alternative for adults for such events as tacky light tours. Pace said the truck is booked for concerts and a football tailgate party in the fall. Future uses of the truck could be as a mobile video game station or for camping.
“We are working to promote this truck as a ‘do-anything-on-it party truck’ and its use is only up to the client’s imagination. You could feasibly even put a band or a DJ on it,” Pace said.
Taylor Pace of PlayRVA. (Photo courtesy of PlayRVA)
PlayRVA currently operates a kids train on the weekends at Regency, which is the company’s home base. It also has trains stationed at Potomac Mills mall in Northern Virginia and Charlotte Premium Outlets outside Charlotte, North Carolina.
It previously offered train rides at Chesterfield Towne Center but once its lease agreement there ended, the company decided not to renew and to move that train to Potomac Mills.
“We wanted a higher traffic space,” Pace said “We thought it was a smart move to go to a bigger place with more opportunity.”
Train ride tickets are $8 at Potomac Mills and $5 elsewhere.
The company briefly operated at a mall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, but discovered state regulations it didn’t want to deal with and decided to leave. Pace said the state required the train to operate within a gated and fenced area, which would have been cost-prohibitive.
Pace co-owns PlayRVA with Proctor Trivette. The company bought its blue-and-white 1994 Pierce Saber fire truck for $17,000 last year. Pace estimated that an additional $4,000 to $5,000 was spent to outfit and modify the truck to create the bar.
Sea Suite Cruises tiki boat prepares to set sail
D.C.-based Sea Suite Cruises is planning to launch a tiki bar boat in Richmond this month or in early May. The new floating bar comes as an expansion of the company’s local presence after it started to offer paddle boat rides at Rocketts Landing last year.
The Tiki Club RVA boat is a custom-built, 40-foot pontoon boat with a thatched roof. The boat will initially operate as a dry bar, meaning customers bring their own alcoholic beverages to enjoy as they cruise on the James River. The company offers a similar service in Washington, where its boats are permitted to be stocked with alcohol by the company itself.
“That’s one thing people really enjoy, being able to bring their own beverages so they can drink what they want,” co-owner Jack Maher said. “(Tiki Club RVA serving alcohol) is something we’re going to explore in the future. Adding that in is a whole business on top of the business. For us, and we followed a similar route in D.C., it was best to start with BYOB to hone operations starting out.”
The company declined to identify the firm that built the Richmond tiki boat but said it cost about $225,000.
The latest addition to local offerings by Sea Suite Cruises, which also provides local paddle boat rides, is a 40-foot pontoon boat with seating for 30 passengers. (Photo courtesy of Sea Suite Cruises)
Sea Suite Cruises owners Maher and Jack Walten said the Richmond tiki cruise boat comes in response to some of its local paddle boat customers who expressed interest in individual and larger group outings. They said it’ll be easier to accommodate those requests on the higher capacity tiki bar boat.
The company’s paddle boat rides in Richmond accommodate at least eight and as many as 20 people, while the Tiki Club boat can hold 30 passengers.
Both types of cruises are an hour and 45 minutes long. Pricing per person varies from $40 to $55 depending on what day of the week the cruise takes place. Both cruises are bring-your-own-beverage and hard liquor isn’t allowed.
Sea Suite kicked off its second season of paddle boat rides in Richmond in early April. Last year, Paddle Club ran locally from Memorial Day to Halloween and did about 450 trips.
The company plans to have a total of 10 boats by the end of the summer. It operates in the Maryland cities of Baltimore and Annapolis in addition to Washington, D.C., and Richmond.
BYOB tiki bar? Who wants to have to pack and lug a cooler? Hopefully that’s just temporary while they pursue a liquor license, but the article doesn’t say that.
I’ll gladly pack and roll a cooler over if it means I’m paying $3/drink as opposed to $10.
Agreed. Should be more worried about the bathroom situation! lol
A welcome addition to the RVA booze cruise scene! Crank up the yacht rock!
$40 – $55 per ticket for a 45 min cruise and it’s BYOB? No thank you, I’ll stick to my boat and invite a DD for a day out on the water.
If you already own a boat, you’re not likely the intended audience.