DALLAS — Throughout the pandemic, the U.S. has seen a boom in new small businesses despite the economic and health care challenges Americans have faced.
The last 16 months have forced business owners to get creative in the products and services they’re offering to accommodate pandemic restrictions.
One industry thriving in areas of the country like Texas - where people are more relaxed with social distancing - are party entertainment services such as Bubble Truck in North Texas.
For Dallas resident Ben Foster, working as a Bubble Master is by far the coolest job he’s ever had. He’s responsible for making sure a 22-foot-long converted school bus will produce a continuous fountain of foam bubbles for an hour, while entertaining a crowd of what usually consists of kids, all while dressed in a ringmaster costume.
“If you tossed The Color Run, 'Family Feud,' 'The Greatest Showman' and gallons of unicorn bubble formula into a blender and set it on sonic speed … you would have an Ultimate Bubble Truck Party right in your front yard!!” according to the Bubble Truck’s website.
Foster is still a new Bubble Master, in his first month of birthing bubbles, and for him - like many - the pandemic has made it hard to find a steady job. He feels like he hit the jackpot with this one.
“This is my first entertaining job,” said Foster “I’ve worked a lot of labor jobs in the past. This job has just been a lot of fun. To know I’m helping bring smiles to these kids is a great way to make money.”
Inside the bus the owners call a truck are six 55-gallon drums filled with water and a “tear free, kid-friendly soap,” according to the website.
During this pandemic when many have been entertaining from home rather than going to large events, the business has thrived, with the demand adding buses to its fleet.
For $210, the service can be rented for an hour on a weekday, and $310 on the weekend. One person who’s a returning customer is the director of Liberty Private School in Wylie, Texas, Christy Peterson.
“This isn’t just fun for the kids, but it’s a sensory experience,” said Peterson. “They’re getting the smell, the sight, the social development with their friends. We do these kinds of activities at a much smaller scale, and so as soon as I saw the Bubble Truck, I thought, this is perfect.”
This is the second time bubbles have filled the main entrance drop-off of the school. Peterson added that after the hard year her students have had grappling with the pandemic, a mound of bubbles is the perfect way for the kids to de-stress.
Foster’s boss and the business's associate producer, Tom Parr, says mobile entertainment services like this have given parents unique options when classic party destinations like pizza places can get crowded.
“What’s great about this is we’re mobile so we can go anywhere,” said Parr. “Over the last year, we have grown so much as a business. We’re trying to cover as much of the DFW Metroplex as possible. We’re going to be hopefully adding some more buses and more cities. We plan to expand as much as the demand takes us.”
Parr said if these kids forget if just for an hour about COVID-19, vaccines and variants, then the Bubble Truck and Bubble Master Ben are doing their job, bringing joy one smile at a time.
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Share your ideas with DFW human interest reporter Lupe Zapata : Lupe.Zapata@Charter.com