Chicago hosts a lot of events — weddings in loft spaces and halls, corporate gatherings downtown, backyard parties across the neighborhoods and suburbs. What most of them have in common is a drink setup improvised at the last minute. Our portable event bar solves that properly. It is a full-size, handcrafted bar, 41 inches tall at standard bar height, that reads as real furniture in a room and still packs flat when the night is done — a useful trick in a city where storage space costs money.

The bar is built from MDF panels over an internal frame, with an interior shelf behind the counter for bottles, glassware, and tools of the trade. The entire bar comes apart into five flat pieces using lift-away hinges. No tools are required and there is no hardware to lose. It packs flat to fit in most SUVs and truck beds, and it stores in a closet or against a garage wall. Full dimensions and finish options are on the collapsible event bar product page. Renting a bar setup adds up fast over a season of events; owning one means the same polished presentation travels with you from venue to venue, and for bartenders building a book of business, that consistency matters.

Two sizes are available. The 5-foot bar is $800 painted in white or black, or $700 raw if you want to finish it yourself. If you’d rather build one yourself for personal use, the same design is available as 5-foot DIY build plans. The 6-foot version is $950 painted and $850 raw. Every bar is made to order. Chicago mobile bartenders use them for weddings, corporate events, and private parties, and hosts who entertain often buy one instead of renting a different setup every time. The flat-pack design also makes it practical for venues with freight elevators or tight stairwells, since the pieces move one at a time. Painted finishes touch up easily with regular use.

Chicago-area orders are built by a local craftsman in The Wobbly Carpenter network, in his own shop in the city. You can learn more on our Chicago builder profile page. Built by a local craftsman in The Wobbly Carpenter network. Every builder signs our craftsman agreement, and insurance and background check are verified before their first build. Locally built means no freight bill for shipping furniture across the country, and you are supporting a working craftsman here in Chicago.

Pickup is free when your bar is ready, and delivery is available anywhere within 40 miles of the builder's shop — covering the city and a wide ring of suburbs. Since every bar is made to order, ordering ahead of your event date is important. Ordering happens through thewobblycarpenter.com: pick your size and finish, check out, and the checkout confirms your delivery address is within range before the order is placed. Planning an event outside Chicago? Browse our other service areas and delivery locations to see where the network builds, with new markets added as builders join. In a city with this many events, a sharp bar that stores flat is a practical thing to own. Just over the Wisconsin line, see our Goodman page; farther south, Chapin, South Carolina covers the Lake Murray area.