Vino Mobile Wine Truck Is a Dream on Wheels For Owner Jenn Kampmeier
Photographer / Eli Beaverson
Jenn Kampmeier-Aaron has been an entrepreneur since the tender age of seven, her first company being a bubble gum route. Since then, she’s started a total of 13 companies. But Vino Mobile, a mobile wine truck, just might be one of her favorites.
How does it work? When someone hires her, Kampmeier-Aaron shows up with the truck, pops it open, and starts serving her four boutique wines, two red and two white. After a couple hours, she typically hollers, “You don’t have to go home, but I am!” She rolls out, honks the horn, and is done with her shift.
“I sit on the bus, and I hear these amazing conversations out there,” she says. “I can’t put into words how cool it is to see and hear what goes on.”
Kampmeier-Aaron was “feeling a little bored” in 2014 and had been thinking about the wine truck idea for six months. It’s an idea that has been touted in memes on the internet for a while. In fact, 90% of the time when she tells people what she does, Kampmeier-Aaron says they tell her, “Hey, I had that idea!!”
But Kampmeier-Aaron is the first in the United States to independently own a wine truck. She credits her adventures in parenting and love for wine, both being tied together in a way most can understand and the business venture just made sense.
“This wine we serve, you cannot walk into any store and purchase,” she says. “We pour from 94 points and up, and it comes from Washington, California, or Oregon.”
She can do a cash bar, open bar or a combination of the two. She has even been making her mark in the wedding market.
One of the biggest challenges was understanding liquor laws in the state of Indiana.
“I did my research, found out what I needed to do get my license,” Kampmeier-Aaron says. “I went with my dad to pick out a school bus, drove it home, pulled up to the house and my husband goes, ‘Oh dear heavens, what are we doing now?’”
She told him her idea of making the bus into a mobile wine truck. Per usual, he embraced her idea, albeit with caution, and got to work on the bus with his friends, retrofitting it with cabinets and equipment, all anchored down. The inside features quaint rugs, wine glasses, twinkle lights, wine storage and room for beer kegs.
The bus even has a name — Vinnie.
“My husband literally built my dream,” she says.
She did her first event on May 28, 2016, and says it’s been nonstop ever since. The Vino Mobile does four types of events: corporate, non-profit, weddings and private events and parties, such as neighborhood or birthday parties.
In fact, since the global pandemic, her work has been just as busy as it was before.
“We’ve done 50-plus events since May,” Kampmeier-Aaron says. “This has been a great way for people to get out, socialize again and keep safe distancing while enjoying each other. Just to get that feeling of not being alone or isolated is really awesome to see.”
She has a staff of 11 servers, all exceptional workers she handpicked to create a memorable experience for her customers.
Kampmeier-Aaron got so busy that she had to add a second smaller bus, whose name naturally became Vito, in 2019. She hopes to own another big truck someday, but that’s for the future.
For now, she’s embracing where she’s at and enjoying the adventure. For up to date information, you can follow Vino Mobile on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and online at vinomobilebar.com. You can also give them a call at 317-517-9920 for more information. Jenn Kampmeier-Aaron has been an entrepreneur since the tender age of seven, her first company being a bubble gum route. Since then, she’s started a total of 13 companies. But Vino Mobile, a mobile wine truck, just might be one of her favorites.
