Beer is being served from a school bus in Modesto. Converting it took years

It’s not often that the words “beer” and “school bus” are spoken in the same sentence. And the idea of beer being served out of a school bus may be perplexing, but that’s exactly what one Modesto man is doing.

Garrett Vick gutted a 1984 mini school bus that was gifted to him six years ago and converted it to a mobile beer bar. Though unless Vick gets a catering license, the bus is stationed at La Placita Food Truck Park near downtown Modesto with Tio’s Grill.

Vick was living in Santa Cruz when he visited a friend’s family’s Escalon dairy farm, where the bus sat for a decade. He thought the bus would be “cool” for a business idea, he said, but he didn’t know exactly what that business would be.

“(My friend) bought it from the Sacramento School District for pennies on the dollar to do a tiny home, but it wasn’t really ideal,” Vick said. “Then I had a shower moment a couple of days later where I was just like, ‘Bus stop beer garden,’ and it made so much sense.”

Back in Santa Cruz, he presented the idea to a professor at UC Santa Cruz — where he earned a degree in economics — who ran the entrepreneurship program. Vick came up with a pitch for his concept and won startup money in contests.

The business was too expensive to execute in Santa Cruz, he said, and he moved back to Modesto to help take care of his grandfather. In 2023, Vick finally moved the bus from the farm and slowly began working on Beer Bus Stop.

Craft beer, nonalcoholic beer and creatively potted plants comprise the vibe

Vick gutted the bus, submitted plans to the Stanislaus County Department of Environmental Resources and applied for an alcohol license last year. He did electric and plumbing work mostly on his own to avoid taking out a loan, he said.

“I was able to finally open the bus stop after only 196 trips to Home Depot,” he joked.

The tables in the beer garden are handmade by Vick with wood from trees he cut. The planter boxes are also made from repurposed wood, and the bar top is made from a black walnut slab he found in the Dry Creek area.

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There is seating for around 30 people and there is some standing room. Guests must stay inside the enclosed area with their beer, per ABC guidelines.

Craft beer is what you’ll find on the 10 taps at Beer Bus Stop, including IPAs, sours, lagers and seltzers. Vick said he hopes to work with local breweries, and he also stocks no-alcohol beers.

“It’s important to me to have nonalcoholic options,” he said. “In the future, I’m going to dedicate a tap to it exclusively.”

Plants are painted on Vick’s bus because while serving beer is his focus, he also plans to sell custom-potted plants. Vick is a member of the Modesto Garden Club, does paid speaking gigs on creativity and plants and makes money through his plant-focused YouTube channel.

“So when you come to the bus stop, you’re going to see plants in printers and plants in different objects,” he said. “I look at the bus stop as a place where I can hopefully make a living with my passions and my experience, and that people can also come and see things that they’re not going to find anywhere else in Modesto.”

Beer Bus Stop’s soft opening day at 302 N. Ninth St. was Aug. 8. The grand opening is Saturday, Aug. 15.

For now, its hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 7 p.m. Follow Beer Bus Stop on Instagram for more information and updates to business hours.

This story was originally published August 14, 2026 at 4:49 PM with the headline “Beer is being served from a school bus in Modesto. Converting it took years.”

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