The NMSU campus Beer2Go® van, designed by the Phat Betos Kappem fraternity and manned by newly recruited Officer Tracie Starr
Started in 2008 by sixth-year college student Jeff Spicoli, frustrated with the issues surrounding drinking, driving, and restocking, his business venture grew into a profitable and successful enterprise and in early 2009 was tentatively tested by county officials with off-the-chart results.
New Mexico, shamefully recognized for having the highest per-capita drunk driving crashes in the country, has government officials scrambling for solutions. Of particular concern is the continued decrease of revenue within the tourism industry as travelers – warned of the bloody highways of New Mexico – simply bypass the entire state and go to Arizona instead because Texas is too boring and backwards.
Adding to the downward spiral is the locally-known “Drunken Revolving Door” of the legal system which administers minimal repercussions and “wrist slaps” to those arrested for drunk driving, creating a plague of proud repeat offenders who view their convictions as badges of honor. Statistically, deaths caused by drunk driving crashes almost never include the impaired driver who caused the crash as they typically drive oversized pickup trucks capable of completely crushing a standard passenger vehicle full of children.
Jeff Spicoli describes how he got his idea (his first ever).
“Dude, it kinda started by accident,” he says, describing the events that led up to forming the Beer2Go® program. “I was hangin’ out with my buds, just chillin’, and Dooder drops the last 6-pack and broke all the bottles. I was, like, ‘You dick!’ Then I’m, like, eff this and I get in my ride to go get more beer at the Slik Pik but on the way I accidentally hit 3 people and a dog crossing the street. It totally sucked and broke my car.”
Spicoli recalls the trauma he endured in dealing with the aftermath of the accident and being isolated in his apartment unable to travel around town.
“My car was busted up, cracked windshield & shit, and I couldn’t afford to fix it. Everyone was always too busy to pick up some beer for me. Plus I had to go to these defensive driving classes once a week and it totally ruined my social life. It was at that point I came up with this kickass idea.”
Spicoli was sitting on his front porch one afternoon when he heard the melodic call of an ice cream truck making its rounds through his neighborhood. Thirsty, he ran toward the music until he caught up with the van and asked the driver if he had any “Buds” for sale.
“The guy was, like, ‘Naw, bro, you gots to call my cousin for that. Here’s his pager number.’ So I call this dude and I did work out a deal but I still didn’t score any beer. So I was, like, ‘Do you have any beer in that cooler?’ And he was, like, ‘Naw, man, can’t sell beer here,’ and then I was, like, you know,” said Spicoli.
This set Spicoli’s wheels in motion – literally. He purchased an old ice cream van that had been sitting for sale in an empty lot for months, set up a beer request hotline, applied for a beer serving license with the State, and got a City business license. Within a matter of weeks, Spicoli and his brightly painted van plastered with Budweiser decals and outfitted with an iPod-powered sound system geared up to play a neverending loop of “man music” and “Mexican drinking songs” was ready to roll.
His first night Spicoli brought in over $500. A week later he was making over $1,000 on Saturday afternoons. And the people seemed to love it.
“I started rolling out around 4 o’clock every afternoon and as soon as people heard the familiar sound of “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” echoing through the neighborhood they got off their porches and came running, waving money and calling out ‘Yo, Beer Man!”
Describing how he bonded with his customers, Spicoli says he had a lot of regulars and was seeing the same people buy a 6-pack of beer “sometimes 3 or 4 times in one night.”
Spicoli knew he was onto something big. That’s when City officials contacted him and inquired about the possibility of teaming up and expanding the operation county-wide.
When Spicoli’s beer delivery van started making its rounds, local drunk driving violations began to drop significantly. Most notably, on the days Spicoli actually cruised around area neighborhoods selling beer to patrons right in their front yards, DUI arrests dropped by over 50%. And while this resulted in fewer fatalities and safer roadways, it also meant decreased revenue for local law enforcement and lack of work for officers scheduled for DUI patrols and for weekend jailers.
“I think the cops were concerned about my operation creating lack of work for them,” explains Spicoli. “I was kind of forced into meeting with them – that’s all I can really say about it.”
After a series of meetings with City officials and local think-tank expert Jon Spunkmeyer the decision was unanimous. Police officers normally tied up with the bureaucratic bullshit involved in a DUI – a single drunk driving arrest typically consumes 4 or more hours of an officer’s shift – will be offered the opportunity to make up lost work hours by operating Beer2Go® vans and immersing themselves in the community to make sure the program is working safely and successfully.
An initial fleet of 10 ice cream vans were purchased, with Spicoli in charge of converting them into “pimpin’ beer-mobiles” with colors and graphics designed to reflect the heritage and culture of the communities they would soon be patrolling.
“I personally did the designs for the historical Piñon neighborhood van, painted a big mural of a donkey and wagon and covered it with a bunch of crosses and Zia symbols just to piss off that Paul guy,” Spicoli said proudly, referring to an area man who sued the City for using crosses in their logo representing the city’s name, The Crosses.
The Ademala District van was painted to resemble a steam engine in memory of the vibrant railroad depot in operation until the 1960s.
Spicoli struggled with the design for the Picacho Peak Mountain Hills van until finally relinquishing the creative process to a neighborhood feminist group headed by former Family Ties actress Meredith Baxter, who led the way to painting the van a muted peach color with a realistic-looking dirt-colored tile roof to match all the surrounding homes. Colorful murals decorate both sides of the van; one depicting women displaying various yoga poses and the other showing a group of men swinging golf clubs. The ‘Ranch Van’ will be the only Beer2Go® van to sell handcrafted microbrews, wine coolers, and bottled vitamin water for those counting calories.
Government officials recently launched an advertising campaign to help spread the word about the Beer2Go® project and to emphasize that the slightly higher cost of beverages purchased from the vans is not nearly as expensive as a DUI.
“We have one billboard that says ‘Cold case of beer: $25; Friday night car wreck and DUI arrest: $25,000; Sitting your ass at home all night drinking beer delivered to your front door in a wheelbarrow: Priceless,” says local DUI Deputy Ted Kennedy.
The Beer2Go® vans will canvass neighborhoods throughout the city, as well as in various outlaying areas within the county. Beer prices are competitive with the local retail market, but have a 10% surcharge added as a “convenience fee” and to cover operational costs.
For more information about the Beer2Go® program call the hotline at (575) 555-BEER or visit the website at www.Beer2Go4UinLCNM.com
