Rolling good times since 2006.

The Cool Bus wasn’t originally meant to be a business. Back in 2006, it started as a fun way to get a local men’s beer league hockey team, the Hook Hawks, from the Hook & Ladder Club on Seminole Street to out-of-town tournaments.

The bus itself was a run-down mini-bus sitting in the backyard of Walter’s friend and local Belle River legend Dave Marchand. Previously owned by the Essex County Mental Health Association and covered in hand-painted dancing vegetables, it had clearly seen better days.

Dave asked Walter if he had any use for it—and the idea was born.

The bus barely made it home, but with a new coat of flat black paint and some hand-painted flames from a friend, it got a second life. The faded “SCHOOL BUS” lettering still showed through the paint, so they dropped the “S” and “H” and filled in the rest: The Cool Bus was born.

Although it never made it to a single tournament, the bus became a post-game hangout spot for the team. That eventually led to a Detroit Lions tailgate, and word quickly spread. People began asking to book it for their own events—and what started as a hockey hangout turned into a full-blown party bus business.

Today, nearly two decades later, The Cool Bus is still rolling—bringing people together for concerts, games, and private events across the region.