Central Valley "bar on wheels" serving up drinks in honor of a lost father

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The 1953 Chevy Panel Truck that Tod Tompkins owns is part car, part bar, and all an ode to his late father.

"The memories I have in this thing are really priceless, really," said Tod Tompkins, co-owner of Tap Truck CenCal, the local division of a fleet of vehicles that serve up drinks from vintage cars. Tompkins runs the local portion of the company with longtime friend Tim McConnico, and he got the idea after seeing Tap Truck Central Coast at a birthday party in Paso Robles.

"It was like the clouds parted and my dad said, 'son, those are my two favorite things, my truck and beer, you gotta do this'," Tompkins said. So with the help of friends, he fixed up his father's 1953 Chevy Panel Truck (which used to be a lunch delivery truck for Sanger Unified School District) to be used for the business.

"I've always wanted to fix it up, it's very important to me. It's all I have left of my dad."

Tompkins and McConnico's business stretches from Merced to the Grapevine, and they've been busy serving drinks at weddings, parties, concerts, festivals and events for the last six months. In fact, Tompkins said they've had to say no to a few invitations because they're so booked up, and they're considering adding a second truck.

When it comes to beer, the truck can serve whatever the customer requests, from craft beer to domestic or imports.

The duo also serves more than beer. They recently tapped and served kegs of root beer at a 5-year-old's birthday party, and they can tap wine, cider, cocktails, champagne, juices and cold brew coffee.

"If they keg it, we'll tap it," Tompkins said.

If you'd like to book Tap Truck CenCal, you can email the team at taptruckcencal@gmail.com, and you can learn more about the company here.