Cocktails and kindness: Mending Spirits Foundation

Jul. 18—Alcohol and health care may not seem like they go together. So Abrian Montoya blended them.

When Mending Spirits Foundation was first created, the mission was to be a health care nonprofit organization. Montoya, the owner and operator of the foundation, wanted to give people an outlet for their mental and physical health.

Montoya wanted to try a different tactic and combine nonprofit health care work with something that is well liked by people: alcohol. Mending Spirits is a mobile bar that will go to businesses or cater private events like weddings, birthdays, block parties or other events.

"I really wanted to keep the idea of the nonprofit alive. My other passion is bartending, so I decided to try and make drinks to help for a better cause," Montoya said.

With nothing more than a pop-up truck and a dream, Montoya decided to create Mending Spirits Foundation.

Mending Spirits is a nonprofit mobile popup bar that sells cocktails, craft shots, beer and mocktails. The cocktails have a southwestern theme with drinks like the triple de leche, which consists of a lavender vodka base and condensed and evaporated milk to mimic the flavor of tres leches. The bar is also experimenting with THC-infused drinks to add to the menu.

His goal is to divide liquor sales into threes. Two parts of the money goes toward Mending Spirits and whoever they are subcontracted through. Mending Spirits depends on help from volunteer bartenders who work for tips. Currently, the company is working with Hollow Spirits Distillery and is looking to partner with other local bars.

"Liquor licenses are expensive and hard to get. We work with local distilleries and use their liquor and special dispenser permit as a subcontractor," Montoya said. "Logistically, it's easier, and the cost is easier on us."

The remainder of the money is put aside to create grant funds that Mending Spirits distributes quarterly.

There is an application process for the grant funding. The business has special causes they like to support. There are four categories: A childcare fund; a graduate student scholarship fund, an animal care fund for pets under the care of people who are homeless; and a fund for women who are victims of domestic violence.

"If people need help, we won't refuse as long as it's in our focus," Montoya said.

Montoya said he focuses on those areas because of the needs of the city and the people in his life.

"Based on personal experience, I always saw coworkers struggle to afford childcare. It felt like they were only working for people to take care of their children and almost lose all the money you made at work," he said. "For our graduate school grant, I felt it was important because our education is at the bottom of the totem pole. I think more educated people and entrepreneurs can bring the city up."

Montoya said he will award grants every three months. People will fill out the application and write a one-page letter. After finalists are narrowed down, a board of five people decides who will receive the grant. The grants are around $2,000.

"It's kind of contradictory having a bar as a nonprofit, but we use it to our advantage. Why not use something like that to help people in need?" Montoya said. "Alcohol brings people together and interests people for some reason, so we decided to use something recreational to help people out who need help."

The company recently had a soft launch in June and is looking to expand.

'We're still trying to figure out which popups work best," Montoya said. "People appreciate that it's a nonprofit bar and I think that's our edge against other mobile bars."