To Make Her New Bar Mobile, Amanda Gere Used A Vintage Horse Trailer

MADISON, CT – Amanda Gere has always enjoyed hosting parties for friends and family and making the party as special as possible.

“At every party I hosted, I had a signature drink for the event, just to make it more special,” she said.

Gere recently opened The Bubbly Burro, a full-service mobile bar available to cater private events.

The idea came to Gere when she was looking for a private event bartender for her birthday party but couldn’t find one.

“Given that there was a market for the need, we decided to bite the bullet,” she said.

Gere said she and her husband, Alex, found a vintage old trailer that Alex remodeled and turned into a full-service mobile bar.

“This allowed us to bring our private event bartending business to several events around town,” she said.

It was during the winter of 2022 when the idea started taking shape.

“I started a Pinterest board with many ideas,” Gere said. “Then we bought a vintage horse trailer that we found on Facebook Market Placed, completely rehabbed it, and had it ready for the end of May 2023, which was our first party.”

Gere started catering events with The Bubbly Burro in May and, so far, has catered various events, but she said she still hasn’t catered a wedding.

“We have a Connecticut Liquor License to do everything,” she said. “We’ve done graduation parties, housewarming parties, birthday parties, and even though we haven’t done a wedding, we are going to be a bridal show to get more clients.”

Gere said The Bubbly Burro made an appearance at the Madison Fireworks display, and it got much attention because of how it looks.

“I’ve always had a special place in my heart for donkeys, and someday I hope to have miniature donkeys,” she said. “I was toying around with different names, so Bubbly because of champagne and celebration and Burro because I loved them, and we use a vintage horse trailer.”

The Bubbly Burro gives Gere something to do over the summer as she is a special education teacher.

“I have the summers off, and it worked out in this area that many of the events are in the summer,” she said. “So, it worked out great that I get this creative outlet during the summer when I have time off.”

Even though Gere is not a bartender by trade, mixology is one thing she’s always been interested in and has enjoyed doing even before the creation of The Bubbly Burro.

“One of our packages includes custom-curated drinks,” she said. “I bring all the different ingredients to eh client, mix them, and come up with signature drinks for their event and we name.”

Having a background in special education has given her patience but working at the preschool level, she sees parents every day, which has helped develop her public relations.

“You are creating relationships with the parents and their kids, and that’s what I bring to my clients,” she said. “I get to know them and what they are looking for in their events, and I’m very kind and patient. So, it works because I answer all their questions and make their party the best it can be.”