Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Tucker.
Hi Charles, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My friend, Andy, and I had been exploring ideas for a side business for some time. We were interested in the craft beer scene in Charlotte and York County, and had considered several options including a self-serve tap house, brewery, and even a meadery. We went pretty far down with a couple of those projects, but never felt that we had hit on an option that fit our interests, abilities, or available time. We both have full time jobs, and, at the time, Andy was completing his MBA at the University of Michigan. One evening while in Ann Arbor, Andy saw a beer trolley, filled with people having a blast, and he thought it would be a great idea for the growing brewery scene here in York County. We started looking for buses, trolleys, vans, etc. that would work and found a trolley company in NC that was looking to sell off some of their fleet, and that led us to the YoCo LoCo trolley idea.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
All in all, it’s been fairly smooth, really just by good fortune. The licensing process was a bit convoluted – the state didn’t really seem to know how to classify us or what sort of regulations should apply. Once we navigated through that, we needed a qualified CDL driver. That’s where we struck gold. We contacted the Fort Mill School District bus supervisor who connected us with our driver, Fred. He is the heart of the experience and gets unanimous rave reviews from the riders.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a physician and Andy is a corporate attorney. YoCo LoCo is a side project that we’ve enjoyed putting together.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
The trolley has public tours that go to breweries on the weekends, and we have some special dates set aside for wine tours. We also do private rentals for weddings, corporate outings, birthday parties, or any special occasion. And during the Christmas season, we do Polar Express tours for kids, which was very popular last year.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yocoloco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yocolocosc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yocolocoSC/
