Sweet Sips Mobile Bar Rolls into Mahoning Valley

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Sweet Sips mobile bar trailer has arrived, just in time for outdoor party season.

It’s not just any trailer, but a 1968 Scotty that has been impeccably restored with custom woodworking. It’s fully equipped with an old-style refrigerator, restaurant-style glass washing system and a bourbon barrel that has been converted into a keg cooler and tap system.

The Sweet Sips trailer is the latest mobile business offering from Bergen Giordani and her daughter, Morgen Chretien, who co-own the One Hot Cookie and OH Donut shops in Youngstown and Boardman. 

The two already own the pink One Hot Cookie trailer, another restored vintage unit that has become a familiar site at festivals. The Sweet Sips trailer looks similar but has an understated color scheme and a totally different business plan.

It’s available to rent for private, usually upscale, events in much the same way that a host would hire a caterer. It is not designed to serve as a festival vendor trailer, but as a convenience that makes cleanup easier while serving as a conversation piece.

“It’s a built-in photo opp,” Chretien said. “It’s fun and it’s different.”

The customer who rents it is responsible for buying the liquor and beer. Sweet Sips provides the bartenders, who make signature drinks, pour beer and otherwise serve guests from the trailer’s window.

It’s painted brown and black, with no visible signage on its side wall, so it can fit in at any event and match the theme of the party.

“We wanted it to have an upscale feel,” Giordani said. “If it’s at your wedding, you could decorate it with flowers beautifully. If you want it at your graduation party, you can put balloons on it.”

The trailer is also available for children’s events, and offers a no-alcohol package of lemonade, soft drinks and coffee.

“Our goal is to have a fleet of them,” Giordani said. She and Chretien already are searching for more vintage trailers.

They bought the new unit last year from a Sharon, Pa., man who collects vintage trailers. The original plan was for it to ease the workload on their first trailer. 

 “We’ve always done well with our mobile business, including for private parties,” Giordani said. “We were double-booked.”

After doing some research, the two hit on the idea of making it a bar trailer.

“We saw that a lot of vintage trailers were being converted into mobile bars,” Giordani said. “We love a good party and Morgen loves a good signature drink, and I love vintage trailers. So we thought, ‘let’s develop a mobile bar concept.’”

Mobile bars with a vintage look have been popular in the South, as well as overseas, for years, but Sweet Sips is likely the first one in the Mahoning Valley, she said.

“We found out that people were having trailers built to look like vintage trailers,” Chretien said. “We’re really fortunate that we actually have a vintage trailer. This is the real deal.”

The trailer was in very poor condition when they bought it. They hired Bill Clark of Bill’s Handyman Service in Farmdale to restore it and add windows.

“His woodworking is unbelievable,” Giordani said. 

For information on rentals, go to SweetSipsOhio.com.

Pictured: Morgen Chretien and Bergen Giordani converted a vintage 1968 Scotty trailer into their latest mobile business venture: the Sweet Sips mobile bar.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.