We were lucky to catch up with Bruce Dunbar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bruce , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Our name started out as a joke between my partner, Gretchen Klett, and myself. We were bantering back and forth different ideas with varied results when I suggested My Sweet Ass Beverage Burros. We both laughed at the pun but thought it might sound too offensive to some people. We kept looking at other options and always fell back to it, so we decided to take a leap and figured most people would see it as cute, not offensive. It has hurt us some. We did a television interview and they would not let us use the name. Also Instagram blocked it, so we use @Beverageburro to make them happy.

Bruce , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We got into this business primarily to bring joy to our clients and expose them to our wonderful animals. We love our burros and use them for a number of events including hiking, weddings, corporate events, we bring them to libraries, schools and retirement homes. We love to see the smiles on people’s faces when we arrive with the burros. Our clients often remark that the burro is the most memorable part of their special day.
Burros are wonderful animals they are intuitive and I love seeing how they interact with children and people with disabilities.
One of the things we do differently than some other companies is that we let donkeys be themselves and roam about, seeing who they gravitate toward. We also let some of our guests lead them around and spend quality one on one time.
My background is in the kitchen and my partner is an artist who used to teach children, so we bring a hospitality and educational aspect to our events which I think makes us unique.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My partner and I met back in the early 80’s when she was in college and I was still in high school. We dated for a while and eventually drifted apart. It wasn’t until the rise of Facebook and social media came about that we reconnected in 2008. I was living on the east coast and she was in Arizona. I would drive across country and visit during the winters. We both realized that we had something special and decided to make a home together. She had always been a horse person and I knew nothing about them so I started volunteering at horse rescues to see what the fun was all about. It was there I was exposed to burros and I just brought my passion home. I adopted a burro from the BLM and brought it home one day. She said to me ” what are you going to do with a burro?” 6 years later we have 5 donkeys and a business that makes us both smile everyday.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

For us social media has been a game changer. People see our burros on Instagram and Facebook and they fall in love. We also use WeddingWire and The Knot to house reviews and generate business. We do a lot of open houses at wedding venues and try foster relationships with local wedding planners.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @beverageburro
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mysweetasspip?mibextid=2JQ9oc
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brucedunbar4790
• Other: [email protected]