The trend of having mobile bars at outdoor events has taken off in Michigan over the past few years, and now, Isabella County has its first mobile bar, the Michigan Mare, thanks to entrepreneur Shari Myers.
“I went to a friend's wedding reception and they had really cool barrels and really cool rustic kickstands,” shares Myers. “So, me being the person that I am I said, ‘Well, I'm just gonna start renting these things out!’”
This is when Myers began Something Borrowed Event Rental from her home in Shepherd. In 2020, her business took off.
“Everybody was getting married in their backyard so they didn't have the venues that had all of the decorations for them,” she explains. “So, they had to either make their own, buy their own and resell them when they were done, or rent.”
During this time, Myers began her plans to turn a horse trailer into a mobile bar as part of her rental inventory. Initially, she purchased the horse trailer for her horses. It was serendipitous when her horses didn’t like it, as it was the exact style she wanted to use for her mobile bar.
In Spring 2022, her year-long renovations to turn the horse trailer into a mobile bar commenced.
“I had my son start cutting the metal because he's a shop kid,” she shares. “I painted the whole thing and re-did it with wood; everything else you see is what I did over the course of a year.”
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Built with almost $10 in pennies, Myers and her mother-in-law created this back counter within the Michigan Mare mobile bar. (Photo: Courtney Jerome/Epicenter)Throughout the trailer, Myers sanded, painted, put in new flooring, built wood cabinets, and created a penny-epoxied counter—as well as sourced local lumber for the guest-facing maple bar top.
“I bought it from a gentleman just on Blanchard Road who does a lot of woodworking,” Myer says of the maple bar top.
“This was the only piece that had that resembled anything close to what I wanted to use, so I brought it home and I let it dry,” she continues. “I covered that with epoxy as well. So it's very waterproof because it stays outside when I'm driving.”
Her favorite part of the mobile bar is the wooden window.
“They're all separate pieces of wood,” Myers explains. “I had the mark on each side: Am I painting this white, am I painting this black, or am I staining it? And then, what quadrant will it go in? It finally turned out and it’s my favorite.”
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Built from separate pieces of wood, Myers created a multi-colored wooden window for the Michigan Mare mobile bar. (Photo: Courtney Jerome/Epicenter)Myers now drives the Michigan Mare mobile bar throughout the state for a variety of events.
“The bar is unique in that it’s not just limited to serving alcohol,” explains Myers. “It’s great for kids’ parties serving lemonade or hot cocoa. It’s great at festivals, corporate events, or backyard bonfires. It can be decorated for any theme with balloons, multicolored LED lights and signs. It elevates your party experience.”
If a customer does want to serve alcohol at their event with the Michigan Mare, Myers is TIPS certified. She also collaborates with bartender Casey Suydam of Cheers to You Bartending Co.
However, Myers also offers to drop off the mobile bar to events so hosts can utilize the trailer and have their own service arrangements.
April 23, 2023 was Myer’s first Michigan Mare event. She has a total of 13 events completed or planned already for her inaugural season.
“I like the fact that it’s 100 percent woman-owned, woman-started, woman-run,” shares Myers of her business. “And I encourage more women to get out and go after what you find interesting.”
Something Borrowed Events Rental can be found on Facebook, while Michigan Mare can be found on Instagram.
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