In the beer garden at BarrieHaus Beer Co.’s Ybor City taproom, there’s a vending machine covered with a colorful mural depicting splashing beer glasses and neighborhood sights like the Centro Ybor pedestrian bridge, a second-floor balcony overlooking Seventh Avenue, and a chicken roaming the streets.
Inside the brightly decorated metal and glass frame, rows of eclectic items are for sale. Pocket-sized prints by local artists, jewelry from local makers, retro items like handheld digital pets and hand-painted disposable cameras, party wig kits, inflatable aliens and animals, mystery bags, and kids’ toys are just some of the merchandise the machine is ready to dispense with the push of a rotating coil.
It’s all the handiwork of Lucid Vending, a St. Pete business that sells quirky, creative items out of refurbished vintage snack vending machines at breweries, bars, and art-focused businesses around Tampa Bay. The company launched about five years ago and caught on right away. Within a month, there were machines at four Tampa Bay businesses. In six months time, they were at 10 to 12 locations. Today, Lucid Vending has machines at 24 Tampa Bay businesses, mostly breweries and bars, and a handful in the Jacksonville area. The company recently expanded south to Bradenton and Manatee County with a machine at Big Top Brewing.
As the company grows, owner and one-man-show Chance Ryan stays focused on working with local artists and businesses. Each machine sells local artwork and is decorated with a custom mural that a local artist painted to go with the business hosting it. The machines are all at locally-owned and operated businesses.
“When I first started doing this I had no idea what I was doing,” Ryan says. “My partner at the time and I had this idea it would be cool to put interesting, weird stuff in vending machines. We’d seen some other vending machines like that around the world. Portland, Oregon had a startup like this too, a big one. We thought we could do that in St. Pete. Our idea was a little different. We paint the machines to match the venue or just to make it creative and artistic. So every machine’s different. We hire a local muralist to custom paint a design for the business.”
When it comes to merchandise, Ryan says his general rule is to stock the machines with “things I think would be fun to get out of a vending machine after you’ve had a few beers.”
“I try to move things in and out, keep it interesting so that it’s different and dynamic,” he says. “And every machine’s different. I’ve got some in breweries that are family-friendly where people bring their kids. There, I’ll put a lot of toys and games for people to play with and, of course, local art. Then some of the things in nightclubs are more risque, more adult-themed. The art’s more erotic. Those have been really popular.”
Some items are seasonal. There are mini-fans in the summer, hand warmers and beanies in the winter, and costumes at Halloween.
The inventory isn’t the only thing that’s unique and interesting.
“The machines are cool too,” Ryan says. “They’re old school 80s and 90s Lance crackers machines I’ve refurbished. Instead of them going to the junkyard, I pick them up and fix them up. I update their control boards. I equip them with credit card readers and LED lights.”
How is he able to consistently get hold of old Lance crackers vending machines?
“I found a guy,” Ryan says. “They’re around. They’re pretty ubiquitous all around the country. They’re USA-made so they’re easy to get parts for. And they're solid. They’re a metal shell and everything in there you can change out. So I upgrade them. I put in the fancy credit card readers. They’re all touchscreen and you can use your phone to buy something. I don’t do cash so they’re set up that way.”
Local art in local businesses
There’s a list
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Lucid VendingThe Lucid Vending machine at Cocktail St. Pete of
vending machine locations on Lucid Vending’s website. Shuffle, Joy Dive Bar, La La’s Sangria Bar & Lounge, Common Dialect Beerworks, and BarrieHaus are some Tampa locations. Ferg’s, Voodoo Brewing, Cocktail St. Pete, Cage Brewing, The Neon Lunchbox, Speakeasy Kava, Hawthorne Bottle Shoppe, Coastal Creative, The Dog Bar, and The Studio Public House are locations in St. Pete. Lucid Vending also has machines at the Dunedin Brewery and Blur Nightclub in Dunedin, Grindhaus Brew Lab in Clearwater, Crooked Thumb Brewing in Safety Harbor, Studios @ 5663 in Pinellas Park, and Twisted Tiki in St. Pete Beach. The businesses pay no fee to host a machine and get a percentage of the monthly sales, Ryan says.
BarrieHaus co-founder and President Brittney Barrie says she saw a machine at Hawthorne Bottle Shoppe in St. Pete a few years back and thought it was a fun addition to the beer-drinking experience. The Lucid Vending team then approached BarrieHaus about hosting a machine. The machine’s been part of the beer garden experience for three to four years now, with mystery bags and bubbles standing out as fan-favorite items.
“Our guests
love the vending machine,” Barrie says. “Kids love it and parents know they will be buying something from it to keep the kiddos happy. Our vending machine is personalized with Ybor City roosters painted on the outside and filled with fun activities and toys for our brewery guests, who range from first-time tourists, to brew bus partiers, to families with young kids.”
As for the artwork, Ryan says he prefers to stock the machines with “funkier, more cerebral, unusual art.” So far, he’s worked with about 20 local artists including Cristi López, Chris Sellen, Margherita Tibaldo, Steve Brown, Rachel Stotler, Summer Elaine Hue, and Chris Meenan.
“I buy it all from them up front so they’re covered,” he says. “They don’t have to worry about waiting for a commission...It’s a good relationship. I benefit from it, the business benefits from it, and the artists benefit from it.”
Not your conventional job
Ryan worked in real estate and journalism before launching Lucid Vending. As the owner and only employee, he’s now all-in on the business.
“It takes a lot of work,” Ryan says. “I talk with the business owners at first to find a spot where it’s going to go. Then we work with them on a design so they can get something that reflects their business. Then it takes me about two weeks to refurbish the machines. Then it takes a few days to paint them. Then I deliver them.”
He puts in his fair share of 50-plus hour workweeks and says the job’s worth it.
“It’s fun,” Ryan says. “It’s not conventional. But it’s also part of a movement. I’ve helped other companies get started around the country. Sometimes it’s a couple that has part-time jobs or jobs that are not very demanding on their time and they want to put two or three machines in local bars and make a few extra bucks.”
It’s also gratifying to do something that spreads a little joy and adds a unique
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Lucid VendingVivid mural art covers a Lucid Vending machine experience to a night out.
“The things I put in the machines are things I think people can engage with right away,” Ryan says. “They want to get something. It’s always a fun surprise and treat. They love the experience of watching the coils move as it drops their little prize in the chute. The machines light up at night. It kind of transports you. You see these things you didn’t expect to see at night. You’ve had some drinks. You find this thing and you’re like ‘What is this?’ You look around in there to find something you can play with or engage with. A lot people reach out to me and tell me they love it. ‘I saw your machine, I got this art print’ They’ll tag me on Instagram and I’ll tag the artist. It’s just fun.”
Five years in, Ryan wants Lucid Vending to continue to grow along with Tampa Bay.
“I’m always looking for more businesses,” he says. “If anyone’s interested, hit me up. The machines are free. You get cool art on them. You get something cool in the bar that people engage with. It might have them stick around for another round. It elevates the experience of going out. I love it when I go out and see people with toys from one of my machines. They’ll be walking around and they’ll have an inflatable alien or a wig. It’s great.”
For more information, go to Lucid Vending