Keith Kraus and Matt Michel know how to bring the party.
Since 2009, Michel has been hitting the road to serve up gourmet pizzas at parties and festivals aboard the North Fork’s favorite mobile pizza company, Rolling in Dough’s retrofitted 1943 K-6 International Harvester.
On the beverage side of things, Kraus has been bringing his traveling beer truck Hook and Lager, a historic 1957 Seagrave Quint with 10 taps, to serve up brews at regional festivals since last year.
Now, the two friends and former roommates have teamed up for their first joint business venture to bring you B.A.R. Truck.
That’s right, a cocktail party on wheels.
Fashioned after their two other retrofitted food and drink trucks, B.A.R. is a roaming gin mill coming to you in a classically restored 1956 Ford F-6 Kraus and Michel picked up from a manufacturer in South Carolina.
The name B.A.R is an acronym for Brix and Rye, Michel’s sophisticated yet laidback bar and lounge that specializes in crafted cocktails and local wines. The Greenport spot, which opened last summer to great acclaim, inspired the truck’s concept, Kraus said.
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“Brix and Rye built up a strong following quickly with people that were really interested in specialty cocktails,” said Kraus, who resides in Aquebogue and also bartends at Brix and Rye. “We were getting a lot of people in saying, ‘I wish you could come to my house.’ This is what we came up with.”
The traveling bar offers a variety of packages ranging from their basic tier (shelf liquors, basic mixers, sodas, fresh lemonade, iced tea and water) to more extravagant customizable cocktails such as whiskey tastings and New Orleans-inspired packages.
Depending on the customer’s preference, Kraus said staff can even make juice mixers with local berries from Sep’s Farm in East Marion. The truck also has beer and wine taps that can be changed based on what the customer wants.
Additionally, the restored truck comes with a radio, glassware and sink for cleanup. At the same time, it’s compact enough to fit in a backyard or park, Kraus said, adding that the B.A.R. truck caters everything from small parties to weddings and corporate events.
“It is nice because we can just pull into someone’s driveway and have everything set up for them,” Kraus said. “We really work with people as to what works best for their event.”
Kraus said the cocktail truck is a great complement to the pizza truck. So far, both vehicles have been exclusively reserved together to cater parties. They can also be booked separately.
“We are booked a lot together,” he said. “Pizza and cocktails, it’s awesome.”
To reserve the B.A.R. Truck for your next party, call 631-600-3221.
Pricing is available online at www.barbevtruck.com
