Solid Foundations

She is home! This week the caboosy made it’s final journey home to Long Beach. A long line of folks followed her along the road and there were cheers and tears when she was placed perfectly on her foundation.

Its been a long time coming but delays and frustrations haven’t stopped us. It’s been all heart invested since day 1 and, as they say, “Ain’t no stopping us now!”. Next step? Its paint- do yall remember the cherry cola dark red we went with? The pole barn seating and second bar will also be underway.

Thanks for your patience and encouragement! All your kind notes have kept us grooving! Be sweet. Stay juicy. Tomeka and Ailsa

Reno update!

Let’s catch up! The holidays came and went (Mardi Gras included) and we have quietly been making progress. Thanks to all of ya’ll who have continued to support us, drink with us, and cheer us on!

We finally closed on our property in Long Beach, which will be the permanent home of of the Juicy Caboosy! While the process took longer than expected (what doesn’t these days?), we got it done. So what comes next? We are in the engineering phase of the process and have the best crew working diligently on finalizing the interior and exterior layout for our property.

While we wait for the plans, we have been focused on sealing the Caboosy. Over the last two weeks our welder has worked night and day to seal all the holes. There were many. Now we are focused on purchasing the windows and rebuilding the floor. Both of those tasks are under way. Once we have the caboose completely sealed, we will be ready for the big move!

Behind the scenes, we have been recipe testing and creating a menu we hope ya’ll will love. Ya’ll these juices are sooo delicious, trust me! Just remember our goal is to create Instagrammable and delicious moments with our drinks, food, and atmosphere. Guys, don’t worry, we created a space that you are going to love as well. Beer anyone?

We have been making headway and getting closer to setting an opening date! Thanks again for all your support- with the sun coming out we can’t wait to see all those caboosy tees put to use!

Spring is here!

Tomeka and Ailsa

Clean Caboosy

You know that satisfying feeling you have when your house is clean? Well, WE HAVE IT. The caboosy has been gutted, revealing a way bigger, way brighter, way more exciting space. Beer cans? Gone. Wasps? Moved on. We can now see what we are working with and really get planning.

Did we gut it ourselves? We wish we could say we did but we are thankful and excited to have an awesome contractor, Brent, working with us. There are just some things professionals have to do. The caboosy had lead paint and had to be sprayed down after everything was removed. It also had a touch of asbestos (fear not- it's all gone now). We can’t believe how much of a difference seeing the space makes.

Ok, this is not a technical measurement but here we go… it is WAY bigger than a food truck. It is slightly smaller than a trailer. Are you with us? It will have ample room for the bar and kitchen set up as well as some storage. We are working on an interior design concept next.

We did make some interesting discoveries when stripping her down to her core. There was definitely a fire at some point in the caboose. We would love to think that it was caused by bank robbers chasing the train or something glamorous. More likely it was from the coal burning stove that was kept in the caboose to keep the crew warm. We discovered the ventilation latch right about where the char was. Nancy Drew has nothing on us.

The ceiling has gorgeous wood that we can keep. The floors we are still thinking about- there are good spots and bad spots but a complete replacement might be the best way to go. This is not the place to cut corners. What have we learned so far? A LOT. We are spending our savings on the least glamorous of things (can you say gravel?); however, it will all be worth it in the end.

We spent last weekend at the Mermaid Art and Craft Fair in Bay St Louis. We sold out of jars (all but 10) on the first day! I mean ya’ll, what a rush. The jar hustle is in full effect. We met so many folks this weekend and had such great feedback about the project. I mean if Mississippi is not full of the nicest people?! Tomeka was organized making the banner and tent look fab and selling with a smile. Ailsa’s only child syndrome was in full effect, making everyone stop and listen about the caboose even if they were walking at a brisk pace in the other direction.  Not a day goes by where we think the caboosy should live anywhere except the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  What’s next? Well, we are close to signing on our lot and can’t wait to tell ya’ll about the town we have chosen. The Mayor is already on Board!

Thanks for being on this journey with us.

Be Sweet. Stay Juicy.

Tomeka and Ailsa 

Juicy jar recipes

First, we would like to say thank you so much for all the juicy jar love. We appreciate each and everyone who has ordered a jar from us. As we gather together during this holiday season, we hope that your juicy cocktails add some flair and make your time with loved ones extra special.

We have provided a few additional cocktail recipes for y’all to try. We will be adding more recipes as we go and will be creating an official recipes page! Remember to tag us on social media. We would love to share your cocktails with our Juicy Family.

As always: Be Sweet, Stay Juicy

Tomeka & Ailsa

Mojito – Caboose Juice

- 5 Mint Leaves

- 2 ounces, white rum (Infusion)

- 1 ounce lime Juice

- ½ Simple syrup

- Club soda

Cosmo- Caboose Juice

- 1 ounce, vodka (infusion)

- 4.5 ounces cranberry Juice

- Dash of lime Juice

- Dash of orange Juice

Vodka Sangria (Pitcher) –Caboose Juice

-8 ounces vodka (infusion)

- 1 bottle of Rose (wine)

- 8 ounces of Pineapple Juice

- 4 ounces simple syrup

- Add the fruit of the Infusion Jar and any chopped fresh fruit, to taste

Cinnamon Whiskey Sour – Jingle Juice

- 1 ounce whiskey (infusion)

- 4 ounces apple cider

- .5 ounces lemon juice

- Splash maple syrup

- Garnish with Jar Fruit

Hot Toddy- Jingle Juice

- 1.5 ounces rum (infusion)

- 1 tablespoon honey

- .5 ounces lemon Juice

- 1 cup hot water

- Garnish with your Jar Fruit

We have a plan…

What should we do with all these spare parts?

We have a plan! A real plan.. doesn’t that sound nice?! Well you know what happens to the best laid plans but when there is a will there is a way and we are ready to find it. Tomeka has been an active boss figuring out the best foundation options for the caboose, figuring out decking, deciphering city codes- the real bread and butter of the project. It may not be glamourous to think about but one has to know how to get your water onsite. I once read about a woman who built a house herself by watching YouTube videos. If she can do it, surely we can.

As many of y’all have seen on social media, we have been on a mission to clean out the caboose. Wasps, lead paint, asbestos, beer cans, oh my!… It was a real crime scene in there. We made huge strides though it may not look like it while hopefully avoiding tetanus. What we didn’t avoid is the reality that the walls on both sides need to be stripped back to the metal. The wood is rotten, some panels more than others, but needs to all be taken out (at least on the service window side of the caboose). When we get it down to the metal, we will have to re-stud, insulate, and dry wall just like you would in a new house. We made some strides (see pics below) but there is still a lot to finish. The stripped wall is to the left; the original wood on the right.

One side of the caboose will have a large service window for the bar and walk up orders (no one will actually be sitting inside the caboose). The other side will stay a wall with shelving etc. We want to keep it as vintage as possible in vibe. There will be a full commercial kitchen (as per Mississippi code and well… we love food). There will also be storage in the front of the caboose as well as an employee rest rooms. See… a plan!

We are eager to share our plans for the property ASAP! The great news is we offered on a piece of land and it was accepted! We are a bit over a month from closing and need to do our due diligence and make sure everything is ready to rock (how exciting!). We are land owners! We met with the Mayor and the City team and it was an amazing meeting. Positive, welcoming, excited.. this community is a perfect fit for our sweet caboose. We can’t wait to share more.. until then… let’s keep on keeping on.

Be Sweet. Stay Juicy.

Tomeka and Ailsa

*Thanks so much to all those who have ordered jars! The first shipment will go out this weekend and will be available for fast shipment thereafter.

Juicy jars are here

The support of our Juicy Caboosy project has been Happy Hour worthy! I mean- ya’ll- we have had messages from friends, coworkers, railroaders, folks all over the world…. everyone has been so kind and enthusiastic about our Juicy vision. The world needs some positivity and boozy juice right now!

Folks have been asking us how they can support us. The biggest help would be to test our flavors! Let us know what you think! Since we are months away from opening our doors, we put together JUICY JARS (SHOP HERE). What are they? They are infusion jars that get delivered to you with amazing flavor combinations for you to try with friends and family. We are taking pre-orders now for shipment November 1st!

What flavors do you have?

As we test our menu, we will keep adding flavors. To start we have two options:

CABOOSE JUICE (a tropical vacation in a jar): mango, lime, pineapple, orange, organic lime sugar.

JINGLE JUICE (the holidays in a jar): apple, orange, fig, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, organic cranberry sugar.

So what do you do when you get your jar? Here are the infusion instructions:

1. Add 12 oz. of alcohol to the jar with the dry ingredients

2. Refrigerate for 3 days

3. Add the infusion to your cocktail recipe and enjoy 5-8 cocktails.

What you get in your package:

1. A juicy jar with all the dry infusion ingredients

2. A recipe card (more recipe ideas will be on our website)

3. A measuring cup to follow along!

   *Alcohol is not included. Juicy Jars are made and assembled in a commercial kitchen in Louisiana.

For us, this project has been about enjoying time with the people we love the most and serving up some serious flavor. We are so excited y’all are here for the journey!

Thanks for being family and for the support.

Be Sweet. Stay Juicy.

Tomeka and Ailsa

Welcome Ya’ll!

Ya’ll bought a vintage caboose? You are opening a juice bar in a caboose car on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast? The secret is out and YES. WE. ARE.

Most days we are still as surprised as you. It has all happened so fast but we could not be more excited. What started as a happy hour discussion at a rail conference (we are VERY proud railroaders) sparked a plan, which led to months of nights and weekend work. We are well on our way to a 2022 opening!

Give you our vision? Of course!

The Juicy Caboosy serves up fresh juices and the best shareable snacks on the Coast. Fun night out? Make your juicy boozy. Just finish up a work out? Grab a pure juice with fresh ingredients, no nasties added. Whatever your day looks like, come and hang out with us. We’ll have cornhole, horse shoes, game day grilling, and plenty of seasonal events. It’s a beer garden vibe with a cocktail focus. (Of course beers and other sips will be available as well). We can’t wait to share our juice and snack menu as it comes to life.

Welcome to The Juicy Caboosy family! We cannot express just how grateful we are that you are here and on this tasty journey with us. Pour yourself a drink and watch as we set this renovation in motion!

Be Sweet. Stay Juicy.

Ailsa and Tomeka

The Big Move.

So now that you know we bought a caboose, let’s talk logistics. We both work for railroads, but never had to move rail equipment by truck. Why couldn’t we move caboosy by rail? Well… 1. she wasn’t on a railroad (just a little piece of track for staging) and 2. she is old… really old.. and would need a complete safety overhaul to get even close to modern standards.

We have learned more about cranes, trailers, and route planning then we ever thought we would in our lives. There were also some delays from Hurricane Ida and heavy rain from Tropical Storm Nicholas along the way. Nevertheless, we headed to Pattonsburg, Missouri in mid September to get our girl.

We can safely say Pattonsburg is one of the NICEST towns in America. Did they know we were coming? Oh folks… they knew we were coming. We had called the Mayor about 15 times ahead of the big day. They knew and they were ready. The Mayor was onsite to greet us (along with a group of residents) who were both sad and happy to see the caboose go. It was staged in a field in the middle of town, where they are hoping to build a community center. Some people thought it was an eyesore, some partied in it (see pictures of the interior below), and some loved it as a town landmark and the prime Senior picture spot. It had mixed reviews but everyone was so positive and kind about The Juicy Caboosy concept, including the high school football coach (GO PANTHERS).

We got there about 9 am (its an hour and a bit outside of Kansas City) and Paul’s crane team from Brooner Crane was already set up. Our biggest worry of the day was fitting the caboose on the flat bed truck in a way that met height standards for the drive. There is a max height on trucks you have to be under to avoid underpasses accidents, power lines, etc. If you are over, you have to reroute and re-evaluate. To get the height where it needed to be, we had to weld off the stairs, air brake cylinder, and other parts so it would sit flat. We put all those miscellaneous parts in the caboose for use on the other side (TBD whether we re-attach or make some funky scuplture, furniture, who knows…. we will poll y’all for opinions).

Next enter Jimmy. Jimmy is the crane operator and a YouTube celeb (see video above). People are OBSESSED with watching him lift and move all sorts of things. Ya’ll- if you go to the channel, prepare to invest some serious time. It is addictive. Jimmy picked that baby up and swung her around slowly (it was a windy day) before setting the caboose exactly in the right position on the flat bed. He made it look easy. That’s a pro for ya. Important to note was that the wheels weren’t actually attached. The weight of the caboose kept them in place . We were hoping to bring them along but there wasn’t space on the truck. I know- we don’t want to talk about it. The wheels and the track it sat on went to scrap in time for the town’s famous Auto Show. After letting us have a turn on the crane, the team made sure the caboose was secure on the flat bed and the job was done! It takes a village ya’ll!

We finished the morning with a hand breaded tenderloin sandwich with Paul at the Old Memories Cafe. Every diner in there knew we were the caboose girls and were so welcoming. We are hoping Pattonsburg comes down for the opening next year as they left such an impression on us. It’s nice to know our caboosy came from such a kind home and is going to the Hospitality state. Ya’ll see how the railroad brings people together? Tear. Yes, we had a margarita or two that night to celebrate. Yes, it was the best day ever. Is there a lot of work ahead? For sure, but our baby is now home in Mississippi!

For the foamers in the crowd (rail enthusiasts for folks who don’t know the term, officially meet the caboosy):

Caboose Stats:

• Birth Year: 1942

• Type: Steel Caboose

• Length: 40 ft.

• Width: 10 ft.

• Weight: 20 tons

• Railroad: Norfolk and Western Railway

• Pick Up: Pattonsburg, Missouri