News and Events

At Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva recently, I attended a luncheon and exhibit sponsored by Geneva Women in Business. To pull attendees in to view their wares, exhibitors used all the usual freebies pens, pencils, key chains, balloons and business card drawings for a prize.

I wandered along without stopping until I came to the booth for Margarita Man. A woman extended a tray of sample margaritas toward me. Yes, this was more like it.

"But no alcohol, of course," the woman replied. "You have to supply that yourself."

"For your next party, we'll deliver a margarita machine, mix your first batch of margaritas 18 flavors available show you how to run the machine and pick it up the next day. Your friends will rave about your margaritas, and you won't have to do any of that messy mixing. One bottle of mix makes 70 perfect margaritas consistently. Our charge is $150 for the machine and $20 for the mix. We do everything. All you have to do is supply the liquor."

Last September, Mary Lou Douglas and husband Paul bought five margarita mixing machines and the northern Illinois franchise for San Antonio-based Margarita Man. She said that although winter is the slow time for the business, they decided to learn the ropes before it got busy. Most of Margarita Man's business is done on weekends. Both Douglases work at other jobs.

Mary Lou Douglas works as a kindergarten through eighth-grade substitute teacher in Geneva. Husband Paul is a truck driver, something he has done for 30 years.

Paul Douglas is about to stop his truck and retire. "He's getting tired of driving a truck," Mary Lou said. "He doesn't get to meet many pleasant people in that business. He's a big guy. Those machines weigh 200 pounds, and he can carry them into people's houses. He often gets hugs when he delivers. People tell me, 'I love your husband,'" Douglas said. "He's the ultimate Margarita Man."

Party time is picking up now. For the first time since they began Margarita Man, Douglas said they have all five machines rented this weekend. And she has a waiting list if anyone cancels. They've booked their machines for a number of summer weddings. At a local high school post-prom, one of their machines served up razzmatazzberry-flavored margaritas without alcohol, naturally. Douglas said the kids loved that flavor. The Douglases also sell their margarita mix to liquor stores, restaurants and other companies.

Douglas wishes they had started the business sooner. Five years ago, her husband's uncle opened a Margarita Man franchise in Philadelphia. "He's quite successful at it," she said. "We kept thinking about buying a Margarita Man franchise for three years. Then Paul's cousin bought a franchise for Long Island, and he's doing well. Finally we said to ourselves, 'If not now, when? If we don't do this, will we regret it?' We took the plunge and jumped off the bridge."

Douglas said some party supply stores rent beverage mixing machines but either don't deliver or charge extra for delivery. Many also want the machine cleaned before it is returned. She said, "When I tell people we'll do everything for them except buy the liquor, they usually say, 'Great, bring it over.'"

Mary Lou said Paul believes the best way to increase their Margarita Man business is by referrals. If Margarita Man is the hit of the party and everybody has a good time, business will come their way. The Douglases want to expand their business to at least 30 mixing machines and move it from their home to an industrial park. "Some franchises on the West Coast rent 50 machines a day," Douglas said.

To invite Margarita Man to your party, call (630) 262-8570.

Slice of Life focuses on Tri-Cities people who have a certain flair and passion for life. If you know a person who would be an interesting subject for Slice of Life, please e-mail suggestions to paulsullivantravels@yahoo.com with a short description of the person, why you suggested them, your name and how you can be reached.

The following article appeared in The Kane County Chronicle on July 10, 2005:

Margarita Man -- a new way to 'cool'

Publication	Kane County Chronicle
Date	July 10, 2005
Section(s)	Business
Page

By DAWN LASSITER Shaw News Service GENEVA -- Jimmy Buffet put margaritas at the top of the "cool drink" list in 1977 with his hit song "Margaritaville." The singer with the beach bum character and tropical folk-rock style continues to enjoy the effects of the song's popularity with his Margaritaville clubs, which he opened in Key West, Fla., and around the country in the mid-1980s. Around the same time in San Antonio, Texas, another Margarita Man emerged. This man was no professional singer, but has emerged as one of the top margarita makers around. His name is Laurent Peron, and he developed a natural tasting line of bar mixes that hit the food market in 1986. And the rest, as they say, is history. In addition to creating the line of mixes, his company, Margarita Man, is a fast-growing franchise that rents margarita machines to anyone who wants to serve these tangy drinks. Seeing the business booming in 24 states along the coasts and in the Southwest, Paul and Mary Lou Douglas of Geneva decided to bring the Margarita Man to the Midwest. According to Mary Lou, so far, so good. "My husband's uncle bought into the franchise in Philadelphia a few years ago and is doing very well," she said. "And then his cousins did it, too, in Long Island. So we have been thinking about buying one for years. Finally, about nine or 10 months ago, we decided to go ahead and dive into it. So far, it's been very well received." She explained that the idea behind the business is simple enough: The franchisee owns a number of machines and is responsible for their upkeep and sterilization between uses. When rented, the machine is delivered to the specific location and set up by the owner. "We then show the party or event host how to fill and run the machine, and that's about it. We then pick up the machine the next day," she said. "It's totally hassle-free for the host." The machine itself, she noted, comes on a cart that is decorated with a luau-style grass skirt. "It's very festive," she said. Rentals, which also include one free margarita mix, 50 cups, straws and salts, runs around $150 for deliveries within the Fox Valley area. Extra mixes cost $20 each. Margarita Man offers 17 margarita flavors including: strawberry daiquiri, pina colada, Louisiana hurricane, summertime lemonade, Go Bananas, Razzmatazzberry, peach, Go Mango, tropical punch, Goombay Smash, rum runner, mudslide (coffee), Dreamsicle, blue raspberry, Pain Killer, watermelon and mai tai. The renters can choose to make the margaritas alcoholic or non-alcoholic. The liquor must be provided by the renter themselves. "Some people like to rent two machines for their event so they can offer their guests the option of alcoholic or non-alcoholic or so they can offer two different flavors," said Mary Lou. As an added perk, any margaritas that are left over can be stored after the party in zip-close plastic bags and frozen for later use. Owning five machines at the present and planning to expand to 10 by the end of the year, the Douglas', both of whom still hold full-time jobs, have been kept busy renting them out predominantly on weekends. The machines are requested for any and every kind of event and special occasion, Mary Lou said, from graduation, college, retirement and going-away parties to business open houses, Cinco de Mayo fests and children's birthdays. "We've even delivered them for 'no-excuse' parties, where people just want to get together," she said. "We did one 15-year-old's party which happened to have a 'Jimmy Buffet' theme. People have come up with amazing ideas." Parties range in size from as little as 10 people to more than 100. With the entire Chicago metropolitan area to tap into, the Douglas' believe that there is great potential for their business to succeed. "The potential is there," Mary Lou said, "and we're just starting." * Margarita Man is located in Geneva. For information, call (630) 262-8570 or visit www.margaritamanil.com.