APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – As the doors to Flanagan’s Stop and Shop opened Friday morning in Appleton, the small but determined crowd stepped inside the store.
“Good morning… come on in,” Pat Flanagan said as customers walk through the door.
For many, their first stop is a section dedicated to a few specialty beers, some of which are only released on Black Friday.
Jeff Rollman and Zach Kopp had to get their hands on a few bottles from Goose Island.
“It is the best stout, I think you’ll ever see. It really doesn’t have anything comparable to it,” Rollman said.
“These two are the Goose Island, which is kind of the original Thanksgiving tradition, and then this is a really rare one, Sam Adams, which actually they said it was brewed in ’97,” Kopp said.
As people filled their shopping carts, they headed to the checkout line.
“You are at $72.40,” a stop and shop employee said to a customer.
Kopp couldn’t pass up on the black Friday deals.
“I saw this on the shelf here before but as the green price as opposed to the orange price so that’s what kind of took me over the top,” he said.
The original price tag for the Sam Adams brew Kopp mentioned was $59.99 but the sale price is $14.99.
“It’s not about quantity when you’re getting the good stuff,” Kopp said.
“My sister who had lived in California for 35 years moved back here to Wisconsin to help me with the family business,” Flanagan said.
He owns the shop. His dad started the business 60 years ago.
“I basically grew up with most of these customers. They just keep coming back and coming back,” Flanagan said, adding that his favorite part is talking to customers.
“And, taking care of customers and trying to get what they want for the holidays.”
Flanagan said sometimes he only gets 12 bottles of the specialty brews and they sell quickly. Epic Brewing, Goose Island, and 3 Floyds Brewing offer a few unique beers.
As the cash register continued to beep and the beer, wine, and other items made their way into a few boxes, there’s one last thing Flanagan wants to see before his customers leave.
“Let’s make them walk out of here with a smile on their face.”
