Stirrup Trouble
Baddie, Spelled with a V
By Monica Jones
Some people leave Columbus and never look back.
Most of us are not those people.
Most of us are boomerangs – we go, we grow, we test ourselves somewhere bigger, louder, faster. Then, one day, we circle back to the place that built us. Not because we failed, but because we finally know what we’re building, and we want to build it here.
That’s the energy behind V, the woman who opened Stirrup Trouble last year, quietly turning a tucked-away downtown space into one of the city’s most magnetic little hubs. It’s part cocktail lounge, part collaboration machine, part “pull up, exhale, and be yourself” kind of place. The vibes are warm, a little sultry, a little playful, and unmistakably intentional.
V calls Columbus home. She moved here in elementary school, grew up here, and later left for college at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.
While living out west, V remembers telling her best friend she would open a bar one day. At the time, it sounded aspirational. Looking back, it sounds inevitable.
The idea didn’t arrive fully formed. It unfolded gradually through years of bartending, event work, and paying attention to the kinds of spaces she gravitated toward. What began as intention slowly turned into momentum, each step reinforcing the next.
Before the lounge, there was the mobile bar. Stirrup Trouble’s horse trailer is coming up on four years, with its first official event taking place in April 2021. What began as a mobile bartending service quickly became the foundation for everything that followed. Each event brought new menus, new partnerships, and new relationships, shaping the brand long before the doors ever opened.
That history is evident today. Many of Stirrup Trouble’s signature cocktails carry the names and stories of people in the community. The Boss Bitch, the lounge’s top seller, was created for Stephanie Lee’s opening at Teased Hair Salon. The Puerto Rican Mami traces back to V’s first wedding client. Tequila Tox was created for Brittany at Toxicology, and Pasture Bedtime, the espresso martini favorite, features cold brew sourced from Iron Bank Coffee.
These drinks aren’t just clever names. They’re markers of moments, relationships, and collaborations that helped build Stirrup Trouble from the ground up.
When the opportunity arose to take over the former Belloo’s and Circa space downtown, it felt less like a leap and more like alignment. It was the place where V and her husband Logan had their first date, a location she had long named as her dream spot. Eventually, it became a space fully gutted and rebuilt into something unmistakably her own.
Today, Stirrup Trouble operates as a three-layered business: the mobile bar, the brick-and-mortar lounge, and a growing line of canned cocktails and mocktails. Those cans have opened the door to partnerships with other venues, including a collaboration with Stephanie O’Neal at Whiskey Rail, where Stirrup Trouble’s mocktails are available on site.
The cans also allow the brand to show up at festivals, concerts, and large-scale events across the region, while keeping the menu accessible for those who prefer non-alcoholic options.
Still, for all the growth, V is quick to credit the people around her.
“It takes a village,” she says. “And my village starts with my husband, but it expands to the community. None of this happens without people choosing to show up.”
That culture extends behind the bar as well. Many members of the Stirrup Trouble team are entrepreneurs in their own right, including bartender and event producer Kache Garcia, founder of Evolve Community Events. As Garcia put it, V is “10,000% down” for the people she brings into her orbit. She wants her people to succeed in all areas, offering flexibility, support, and space to grow.
The result is a team that feels invested, empowered, and aligned with the larger mission.
Stirrup Trouble is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight, with private bookings, custom events, and the option to reserve the entire space for private events. From birthdays and Galentine’s gatherings to pop-ups and theme nights, it continues to function as a small but mighty hub for connection and creativity.
The thing about Stirrup Trouble is that it isn’t pretending to be something it’s not. It’s not trying to be the biggest spot in town. It’s trying to be the most intentional. It’s a place built from a dream, welded together through hustle, grown through community, and held down by the kind of women who don’t just talk about supporting local, but actually make it happen.
Baddie, spelled with a V.
