A couple who love the Alps have launched a new portable bar business - made from a decommissioned ski gondola.

“The first time we towed the Gondola on the back of the van we couldn’t stop laughing at how ridiculous it must look driving through Sheffield with a ski lift on the back,” said Ryan Eshelby and Fran Tod.

The couple, who live in Chesterfield, have launched what they believe is the UK’s first bar made from a disused skiing cable car.

The couple, who became engaged in April, first launched Gondola Bar Company at the start of this
month, inspired by their time spent in the mountains. — The couple, who became engaged in April, first launched Gondola Bar Company at the start of this month, inspired by their time spent in the mountains. | Contributed

placeholder image — The couple, who became engaged in April, first launched Gondola Bar Company at the start of this month, inspired by their time spent in the mountains. | Contributed

The couple launched Gondola Bar Company, inspired by their time spent in the mountains.

Fran 28, who works in healthcare, said: “We’ve spent a lot of time over the years in the mountains, particularly an area of the French Alps where I’ve also spent a lot of time with family.

“My parents said years ago how cool it would be to make something out of an old cable car, and last year Ryan and I drove past a ski lift graveyard in Taninges, not far from Morzine.

“We talked about how cool it would be to turn one of them into a bar, and then about a week later Ryan said he was serious about trying it, so we did.”

The business is now aiming to rent out its recently refurbished bar to events including weddings and festivals.

Speaking on the process of finding the right cable car for their project, Ryan, 32, who works in physical security, said: “We spent ages trying to find the right one, emailing lift manufacturers and ski resorts to see if they had any which had been decommissioned.

“In the end we found the perfect one near Munich, Germany. It had spent its life on the mountains in Saalbach, Austria before being retired, and we had it delivered on the back of a truck to Sheffield.

“They’re designed to be suspended over mountains, so while there are lots of mobile bars out there, it’s been a different challenge trying to convert a ski gondola into one.”

The couple, who live in Chesterfield, have launched what they believe is the UK’s first bar made from a disused skiing cable car. | Contributed

Fran is originally from Devon, but studied in Sheffield, where she met Ryan in 2020.

Speaking on how the couple had found it starting a business together, Fran added: “It’s actually been so fun. I was really nervous to begin with, being a couple it’s scary to take a risk starting a business, but I reckon we’ve learnt a lot.

“We’ve had to be pretty patient at times but mostly we just find it hilarious that the idea has come to where we are now.”