Ryan Lloyd and Derek Collins are betting that exercising - or at least a little bit of it - and partying go hand in hand.
The two young entrepreneurs, longtime friends going back to their high-school days at Wauwatosa East, are partners in a 16-person bicycle-powered party on wheels.
Called Milwaukee Pedal Tavern, the vehicle has been spotted around town for pub crawls, graduation parties and bachelor or bachelorette parties.
The vehicle can hold up to 16 people, and 10 of the seats are pedal-powered. One person can sit in the middle of the vehicle and help serve beverages and food to fellow partygoers.
The charge is about $160 an hour.
During one recent outing, Milwaukee Pedal Tavern brought a group from the bars along W. Blue Mound Road to Miller Park for a Milwaukee Brewers game.
Lloyd said the pedal tavern idea surfaced in Europe and has proved popular in Germany and the Netherlands.
Lloyd spotted it in Minneapolis, where more than 17,000 people have climbed aboard. Lloyd, convinced the idea would be a success in Milwaukee, obtained the distribution rights for Milwaukee, bought one vehicle and has plans to buy another.
"We've already had people rent it out for pub crawls, and we're booking for graduation parties at the end of the month," Lloyd said. "We're outpacing where we thought we would be."
Lloyd, 27, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a finance degree and still lives in the Twin Cities. Collins, 28, got a marketing degree from UW-Milwaukee and lives here.
The two businessmen have a sense of humor about their first business venture as well. On their Web site, the two say the Pedal Tavern "goes faster than (former Milwaukee Brewers catcher) Jason Kendall but not as fast as Rickie Weeks, it goes about 5 miles an hour."
While the two are happy with the buzz they've created so far, there is one missing ingredient in their business plan: beer and alcohol aren't allowed yet.
It is a Pedal Tavern after all. The two have appeared before a Common Council committee. Ultimately, their goal is to secure a limousine license and have their customers bring their own beer or alcohol to consume on the vehicle.
"We really don't want the hassle of selling the beer," Lloyd said.
Ald. Bob Donovan, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he was supportive of Pedal Tavern and backed their request for a pedicab license so they could start the business. The question of getting a limousine license won't be considered for several months until the city gets a chance to see how the business works out.
"I give these guys credit," Donovan said. "Putting this in the Third Ward is a good idea. We just want to see what kind of track record they have."
Milwaukee Pedal Tavern can be found on the Web at www.pedaltavern.com.
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