Traveling beer burros serve guests at events in Hill Country

Next time you're at a wedding in the Hill Country you could be served by an unusual bartender.

The owner of a local event company in Dripping Springs has started booking traveling beer burros to carry drinks, food and party favors for all kinds of occasions.

Handlers at Texas Hill Country Events started loading the miniature donkey's pack saddles with ice-cold beer after a special request from local barbecue joint Salt Lick.

“They said, ‘Would ya'll be interested in starting this business? We have a lot of clients that are looking for this type of thing for their party,’” said Owner of Texas Hill Country Events Alisha Randig.

The idea to have donkeys serve guests was something Randig had never considered, but it quickly re-branded her company as the first in the Hill Country with traveling beer burros. 

“It's taken it a different direction because we started with just bartenders and now our bartenders are leading donkeys around and serving beer out of their packsaddles,” said Randig.

Randig started searching for the right donkeys for the job and found two off of a Craigslist add.

“We went and bought John Wayne and Annie Oakley and got started and now we ended up with seven,” Randig said. 

After purchasing the sometimes stubborn mules, Randig knew she needed help training them.

“We actually took them to Dennis Moore in Blanco. He owns the Buggy Barn Museum and they trained them for about two months, and then he kind of told us what to do and how to work with them, so we've trained the rest on our own,” said Randig. 

Now the mini burros carry anything from beer to popcorn to party favors and then make rounds at each event to serve guests.

“Each donkey gets a TABC certified bartender and a handler and so they can actually serve the alcohol at any venue and we carry liquor liability insurance so we're covered anywhere we go,” Randig said. 

Because of her location and the demand for Texas-themed weddings, Randig found herself and her new employees even busier than she had imagined.

“And it's just really taken off in the Hill Country with Dripping Springs being the Wedding Capital of Texas everyone's coming here to see what vendors are offering,” said Randig. 
               
Now this latest trend is one way those getting married in Texas have been able to set their wedding apart from the herd.