Does Bernie sell alcohol?
No. The staff in Bernie SERVE alcohol and drinks that are supplied by the event organiser/ hirer/ you or third party. This is a win-win as it means no liquor licensing is required, and you – the host – save money by buying your drinks direct. If you wish to get your own alcohol lisence and sell from Bernie just get in touch!

Ok, but how do I know how much to purchase?
Your event manager (or us) can help you with selection and quantities and can provide you with an educated recommendation based on the type of event and number of guests.

Does Bernie have staff to serve drinks?
We are currently offering DRY HIRE only for 2025 and 2026. You can send us a request if you would like us to provide staff and we may be able to assist.

What do you mean DRY HIRE?  
Dry Hire means you hire Bernie only, and your catering company (that we must approve and hand over to) staff him. This works well if your catering company are providing a package including bar staff, or if you want to hire him for multiple days as a pop up store, or an event or festival etc. There is a base dry hire rate of $1199 (+gst) and a list of added extras that you can hire to complete your 'Build your own Bernie’ gig.

Do you serve tap beer?
Yes! We can have up to two kegs running at one time (up to 50L each) – that means two types of beer, or a beer and cider combo. We can guide you as to where to source tasty brews as we're pretty well connected in these parts and can recommend our fave local breweries.  If you'd rather serve bottles – no worries, you can have these displayed on ice in the sinks in the bar.  Of course we also serve wine- and the rest!

Do you serve cocktails? What about table service/ roaming waiters?
We are currently offering dry hire only (no staffed options) however your catering will likely be able to assist with this.

How long can I hire Bernie for?
However long you damn well like! No two events are the same, so you let us know what you envisage and we'll go from there. Fill in the details on our contact page for a personalised quote. Dry Hire rates are per day. This would geberally mena we drop him off anf set him up in the moring hand over to you catering company and collect him at the end of your event that evening.

Does Bernie have a sound system?
Yes! Bernie has a super duper fantastic sound system that operates using blue tooth, so you can give us your play list, or we have some good tunes too. Look up 'Bernie Caravan' on Spotify for some great and ever evolving play lists. (For the techy ones: Inbuilt speakers in Bernie 2 x 280Watt, 200 watt subwoofer -in Bernie's floor, and 2 x external surround sound speaker of 200 watts- in other words- yes! It is loud and crisp and basey enough to be the tunes at your party). No, we do not have provision for a microphone.

What areas do you service?
Bernie is Queenstown (New Zealand) based and happy to travel within Central Otago. Just ask! Mileage fees will apply for areas which are 20km outside of the Wakatipu Basin.

Does Bernie need to be hooked up to power and water?
Not necessarily. Whilst Bernie has 1950's charm, he has modern tech; he can do his thing off the grid!  Not having to plug into mains power means avoiding noisy generators and ugly power cords- bonus! *Long events may need power.

Does this gorgeous #manvan have any other items we might like to hire? 

Yes, our DRY HIRE price list includes a base rate for Bernie and a list of optional extras so you can hire what you need and nothing you don’t need.

How big is Bernie? 
Bernie requires a flat surface of approximately 4m long and 3m wide. ( His exact measurements are: 2.35m high, 3.6m long + draw bar at 1.2m, he is 2m wide, and the 2 bar tops are 1.36m off the ground).

How much does Bernie cost to hire?
Every Bernie event is awesome but unique- just like you- so there is no fixed price. Base dry hire rates start at $1195 +gst NZD.  Drop us a note to hey@bernie.co.nz or better yet fill in the easy peasy CONTACT form and we’ll come back to you pronto!

Bernies Trestle (click for more images)