Badger State Brewing is making sure its loyal local customers feel just as special as the thousands of visitors heading to Green Bay for the NFL Draft. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — While the City of Green Bay prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of out-of-towners for the NFL Draft, one local brewery is being sure its loyal customer base isn’t forgotten about.
In just over 100 days, Green Bay will be buzzing with NFL Draft visitors.
“So excited. Anxious, slightly terrified, but I think that’s kind of everybody. You don’t know what to expect, there’s going to be so many people,” says Jen Radloff with Badger State Brewing.
“We’re at such an advantage with where we’re located. We know what it’s like to be in the heart of Lambeau for regular home games, so to be here with that many people just coming to experience our town and being able to experience our product and the product of all the other businesses around here is so crazy to think about, and super awesome,” Radloff says.
The massive influx in customers is welcome, but it’s also a challenging undertaking for local businesses such as Badger State Brewing to prepare for.
“It’s going to look very different in here, in order to do the effective speed of service. We’re going to have select beers only available, select sizes only available. We’re going to have food trucks all over the parking lot, we’ll be serving in our container bar,” Radlff says.
Among a variety of other accommodations for the crowds too, the brewery will open a bar in its original brewing space.
While catering to the crowds and out-of-towners is obviously a must, Radloff says they haven’t forgotten their loyal, local customer base. She says it’s important to make sure the locals feel special, too.
“Because we’re here, we’ve made it this far and we continue to grow because of that support,” Radloff said.
That’s why those in the brewery’s annual membership club, the Badger Club, which is now in its second year, will get an added perk during the draft.
“A locals-only wristband during the draft, so they can come pick it up, and if they come anytime during that draft week and have their wristband on or show us their membership card, they will get 50% off beverages while at our establishment,” Radloff says.
“We obviously know we’re going to be getting a large crowd that are not Green Bay or Wisconsin locals, so we wanted to make sure that we’re offering something in whatever capacity we could for locals and for those people that have supported our business for years,” she adds.
Aside from the draft perk, the membership offers discounts during every visit to the brewery and special tasting events.
Sign-ups for the 2025 membership have closed, but Radloff says they may consider accepting a few more as the draft gets closer. Information on the memberships and information relating to signing up can be found here.
Though many locals will be avoiding the crowds, Radloff knows not everyone will.
“The people that do want to come down, we want to make sure that they know, we see you, we appreciate you,” she says.
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