Town Square Reflections With Barry and Ann Rogers
If you read Fran’s What’s Cooking? e-mail earlier this week, you’ve already learned a little bit about how Barry and Ann Rogers jumped in at the beginning of Town Square’s story (“Picture it. Green Lake 2011.”), wanting to turn the old jail kitchen into a vibrant commercial kitchen business incubator to help entrepreneurs. Green Lake Kitchens, a Town Square treasure soon to be featured in Insight on Business magazine, is central Wisconsin’s top destination for serious chefs, die hard foodies, and people who just want to have fun. But how did it get this way?
““It really was a cold, lifeless, concrete mausoleum,” Barry said as he remembered him and Ann walking through the old County Courthouse building. “And the old kitchen was in poor condition but we saw the potential.” ”
Most stuff, including the sinks had been pulled out. The remaining kitchen cabinets were coming apart, the walls were filthy, and their shoes stuck to the floor. BUT, the exhaust fan worked. Why does that matter? That is the most expensive part of a commercial kitchen so this excited Barry and Ann.
““I needed a commercial kitchen to prepare pizzas,” Barry explains. “I had converted a classic old American La France firetruck into a pizza truck that became very popular for birthday parties for both kids and the young at heart.”
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The customized truck had a beautiful gas pizza oven on the back of the hose bed, a popcorn machine behind the cab where the firemen used to sit as they headed out on a call, and an ice cream freezer where two inch hoses connected but, to be licensed, he had to prepare the pizzas in a commercial kitchen.
So, in the grime and clutter of that old jail kitchen, Barry and Ann saw sparkling stainless steel, bright walls, and a very large exhaust hood. With the help of friends and family, they started cleaning, stripping, and painting, and the four month project produced a successful licensed kitchen used over the years for new food businesses including Peppercorn Catering, Horseradish, Wisconsin Hickory Syrup, Bee Bella Lip Balm, more recently, Bucket Wings. And even cooking classes!
Here are just a few of the success stories!
The first cooking class was instructed by Barry’s sister teaching elementary students how to make gingerbread houses. That was such a success that a monthly Kids in the Kitchen series was created. Children were introduced to vendors like Danny Boerson of Boerson Farm, who was and is a vendor at The Market at Town Square, who had a beautiful assortment of eggplants, carrots, parsnips, and kale and taught them how to make “vegetable chips.” The kids loved it!
Check out 2021 programs and events guide for future cooking classes.
THEN….at the first-ever White Hot Party, in July of 2016, Barry and Ann quietly placed a note into the donation bucket DONATING the kitchen to the community. They don’t miss the constant cleaning and organizing that goes along with a busy commercial kitchen they are pleased to see Green Lake Kitchens continue to help your food-business startups succeed by offering you all of the tools you need: A fully-equipped certified commercial kitchen, advice and connections for licensing and legalities, marketing assistance and more.
Join our team of rock-star entrepreneurs and help continue to turn your community into the food hub of central Wisconsin! To make your dream a reality, come in for a tour or call us today at (920) 807-0156.