Who are we?

We are Craft Event Bar Collective, and The Cherry Street Bottle Shop and Cocktail Kitchen exists to support our business as event bar caterers, while also offering opportunities for us to engage with the local community.

The Collective is managed by Carly Witmer and Sara Studebaker, two event professionals who love everything about big events. Our first bartender, Carly, now works mainly on the turntables as DJ Carolina Carter, while also maintaining our incredible beer selection. Sara, who made Craft Event Bar a collective when she brought her talents to the table, is most often found planning big events down to the last detail; and then continuing her beloved search for outstanding wines. They are always looking for ways to improve service and expand offerings, which is why they took the leap into a brick-and-mortar location on Cherry Street in downtown Troy.

Other members and friends of the collective include:

Shannon Dixon and Shelby Meadows, both of whom manage event bars at our favored venues and can be found occasionally staffing the bottle shop or providing service in the cocktail lounge.

Tall James, our resident bartender (third Thursdays every month) and go-to photographer.

Kelle Carli, our graphic designer and DJ assistant.

Erin Hartman, a marketing professional who staffs the shop on Saturdays while also managing our monthly newsletter and emails.

Todd Studebaker, who keeps the shop in shape and is there to greet our customers every Thursday.

Jessica Hartman is an educator who devotes her daytime to students with developmental disabilities, while also occasionally staffing the shop and providing excellent service at our events.

Kelsie Richardson is another successful professional who brings a smile to her weekends at event bars and sometimes serves guests at the bottle shop, too.

Cheyene Booher of the Chic Bohemian occasionally staffs the shop, although she primarily works in floral and decor rentals and assists Sara with event planning.

Sylvia Smith, a bartender-in-training who maintains the Cherry Street kitchen and provides all the support for our big event lifts.

Hayner Distilling: our friends at Hayner make our cocktails possible, and we love working with their excellent spirits.

Being a collective not only makes us all better professionals, it allows us to enjoy the company of one another wherever we work. Having the support of a capable and motivated team means that each of us knows we can depend on one another, so that you can depend on us, too.