Motivated by a pandemic-inspired idea, Coeur d’Alene entrepreneur Eden Richey Irgens is on the verge of launching her mobile bar and wine-serving concept, The Sip Shack.

Irgens has refurbished a horse trailer and replaced the horse with space for pony kegs.

“I thought it would be fun to create a cute little service for outdoor weddings ... events of any kind,” Irgens says.

Formal or informal, as normal socialization has taken a hit due to the presence of COVID-19, Irgens thinks The Sip Shack can fill some social voids in socially distant fashion.

The Sip Shack doesn’t sell adult beverages but provides the server and the “shack” from which guests are served. It’s the job of the party host to provide such beverages, as the Idaho Alcohol Beverage Control Bureau doesn’t permit for a trailer to have a license to sell alcoholic beverages. However, there’s nothing permitting alcoholic beverages from being served out of the trailer, according Irgens.

Irgens says she came across the idea that was being touted by an events planner on the East Coast not long after the pandemic reached U.S. shores and state and local governments began restricting movement.

The Sip Shack charges a flat fee of $2,000 for each event. Irgens has hired drink mixologist Lori Davey for bartending services.

“That cost includes serving and the cleaning up afterwards,” she says.

She hopes to begin booking events this month, and she recently acquired another trailer, though she’s still a few weeks away from having it ready for service, she says.

A Kansas native, the 50-year-old Irgens spent most of her professional career in marketing before moving on to other endeavors. She’s previously worked in Kansas City, Missouri, Chicago, and San Francisco, before moving to North Idaho in 2004.

Ultimately, Irgens says she’d like to draw other partners to The Sip Shack and set up a franchisee-style operation.

She thinks the idea makes more sense trying to start a restaurant or a bar.

“What was once the normal has clearly changed, and there’s some sentiment that says how we congregate could forever be changed,” she says. “This could be a way to address that.”