Pedal Pub launching in Jacksonville next month

This article was originally published in January 2020 on Action News Jax. 

The original party bike is wheeling its way to Jacksonville, giving Action News Jax an inside look at operations ahead of the soft launch.

Talk about designated drivers: Pedal Pub offers a 16-passenger ride as a mobile bar during its tour of different bars or breweries.

The company’s policy is B.Y.O.B., meaning bring your own booze. Passengers can bring their own alcohol, as long as it’s presealed. They can not bring open containers onto the bike or from another bar. It must be opened and enjoyed on the bike.

“You can bring beer, wine, hard seltzer; you just can’t bring glass,” Theresa Pontieri said. “Other than that, it’s whatever your drink of choice is, really.”

Pontieri is the co-founder and owner of Pedal Pub Jacksonville. She and her partner, a Jacksonville native, said they want to be involved in the revitalization of downtown.

“We’ve all been in Florida for a really long time and we thought with all the growth and all of the businesses trying to really put Jacksonville on the map, this will be a perfect place for it,” Pontieri said.

They will have three tours: a Springfield Brewery tour, a Downtown Jacksonville District tour and a Riverside tour. Once football season begins, they said they will also have a tailgate tour.

Each tour is two hours long, with a couple of stops at bars or breweries in the neighborhood. Passengers are given a Pedal Pub wristband to get discounted drinks. However, drinks cannot leave the bar.

According to a city of Jacksonville ordinance, open container restrictions on alcoholic beverages contained in Sections 154.107 and 154.108 are waived during Entertainment District Activity Periods. This allows people to have an open container during selected sporting events and tailgates, along with festivals.

Because the Pedal Pub is not considered an automobile, Pontieri said they have reached an agreement with the city.

“We’ve been working really closely with the city of Jacksonville to get around the open container issues,” Pontieri said. “They have been awesome working with us. So we have a special agreement with them. So riders can drink when they’re on our bikes.”

In other major cities, other drivers have run into these bikes and injured passengers. Therefore, each driver and tour guide must complete a driving certification program. They said each passenger must also agree to a set of rules for their safety ahead of the tour.

The soft launch is scheduled for Feb. 1.