Revel, a new traveling bar, brings drinks to customers

Eddie Crane has long been in the bar business.

First it was behind the bar at the former Coyote Grill in Mission, and later at the Capital Grille in Kansas City and Las Vegas, as well as the Wynn Las Vegas. Then it was as co-owner of the Drop and Blanc Burgers + Bottles.

He later sold out of those operations to work on special events, music promotion and bar consultation.

But he missed being behind the bar.

So he’s back at it.

But instead of the daily grind of working behind a bar, Crane and his partner, Simone Snellink, have started Revel — Traveling Bar Events, bringing the bar to their customers.

So far Revel has booked everything from a laid-back birthday party in a Lee’s Summit home for 20 people to a “man shower” for 50 men at a Leawood mansion to an open house for 100 to 150 people that was put on by an inner-city organization wanting to thank its benefactors.

At the Leawood shower, the women went upstairs to watch the expectant mother open presents while the men went downstairs for the “man shower” — Crane’s whiskey tasting and discourse. Crane had recommended several bourbons, scotches and other whiskeys to the party planner to stock. Then he discussed the different kinds, the regions they came from, the distilling and aging processes, the nuances of each one.

“We wanted to hire the best, and he certainly didn’t disappoint,” said Lindsay Michelle Smith, party planner. “The guests went away with much more knowledge about the whiskeys and maybe a little bit of a hangover.”

Crane said some of his competitors in the traveling bar business tend to treat the guests like a number, “slapping a napkin down and saying, ‘What do you want?’ 

”

“But we are in the hospitality industry and that’s what we sell,” Crane said. “I love visiting on a one-on-one basis and being the facilitator of their party.”

For more information, visit

revelkc.com

.

Raygun is readying its first area store — which also is its first store outside of its home state of Iowa.

It plans a soft opening March 28 at 1803 Baltimore Ave. and a grand opening April 4.

Owner Mike Draper started selling T-shirts his senior year of college and never stopped. He opened his first shop in Des Moines in 2005 as Smash and later changed the name to Raygun. He added a second location in Iowa City in 2010.

The shops screen-print T-shirts, along with notebooks, posters and coasters. They also carry buttons, stickers, postcards, clothing, socks, wallets, magnets and more. Annual sales are more than $2 million.

Look for shirts with sayings such as: “KC — too much city for one state” with the K in Kansas and the C in Missouri; “I grew up in Kansas. That’s about as American as it gets. Superman”; and “Branson: God’s waiting room’s nightclub.”

Raygun also will have a new children’s book, “A Spaceman Who Saved Kansas City,” with iconic Kansas City landmarks.

This story was originally published March 17, 2014 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Revel, a new traveling bar, brings drinks to customers."