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Pam Kassner, 414-510-1838
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Badger Liquor First Tenant Announced for Former Schlitz Park Warehouse Space
Distributor Will Move 100 Suburban Jobs to Downtown
Milwaukee, WI, September 21, 2016 – The developers of Schlitz Park announced today that
Badger Liquor, Wisconsin’s largest wine and spirits distributor, has signed a ten-year lease for
24,000 square feet of office space in Schlitz Park’s RiverCenter building, 1555 River Center Drive.
Badger Liquor is the first tenant announced for a $6.73 million renovation project Schlitz Park
will start this month to convert 80,000 square feet of former warehouse space into office suites.
Located on the Milwaukee RiverWalk, the first floor offices will feature large windows and
soaring ceilings, and will house tenants expected to bring a total of 350 jobs to downtown
Milwaukee.
Badger Liquor, a fourth generation owned and operated company with locations in Fond du Lac,
West Allis and Eau Claire, will move 100 sales and office employees to Schlitz Park from its West
Allis site. Warehouse and operations employees will remain at Badger Liquor’s West Allis
location.
“Schlitz Park is the perfect site for Badger Liquor to move forward as an organization and for us
to stay on the cutting edge of the wine and spirits industry,” said John Boulahanis, Executive
Vice President of Sales, Badger Liquor. “A centrally located and accessible downtown
Milwaukee location will allow us to better connect with our customers and enhance these
relationships.”
The beverage distributor plans to open a new hospitality center in its Schlitz Park space to train
customers. Sales and product education is an essential element of Badger Liquor’s customer
service process. The hospitality center will feature a bar and warming ovens, host tastings and
provide customers with opportunities to learn from Badger Liquor staff and local chefs about
food, wine and spirit pairings.
The Brewery Works, Inc., 1555 N. RiverCenter Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212
414.272.6302 www.schlitzpark.com
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Another audience segment Badger Liquor plans to better reach with a downtown location is
millennials -- “the end users of our products” notes Boulahanis -- and a key employee
recruitment segment.
“We continually look to grow our talent pool and bring in fresh ideas and perspectives into our
industry,” said Lindsey Pearson, Vice President of Human Resources, Badger Liquor.
Badger Liquor has 430 employees statewide. Having made a substantial investment in employee
wellness, Pearson said the company was excited to see the “top notch” fitness facilities at Schlitz
Park and other wellness-related offerings such as Bublr bike share and free daily bike rentals.
“We love the idea of our employees going for ride at a lunch. These and Schlitz Park’s other
health and fitness amenities will be great complements to our existing wellness program,” she
said.
Badger Liquor will move into its Schlitz Park space in early January. Jenna Maguire and Ned
Purtell of RFP Commercial, Inc., representing Schlitz Park, and Sam Dickman and Zachary R.
Noble of The Dickman Company, Inc., representing Badger Liquor, negotiated the lease.
The RiverCenter warehouse conversion project is funded with a $1.25 million loan from the
Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation and financing from U.S. Bank. Schlitz Park
developer Gary Grunau said discussions are underway with two additional possible tenants
highly interested in relocating to the space.
“Like Badger Liquor, these are companies that will bring new jobs and new employees to
downtown,” Grunau said. “That’s why we continue to invest in increasing the value of the
economic development asset that is uniquely Schlitz Park.”
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About Schlitz Park: More than 4,200 employees work in Schlitz Park, home to major Milwaukee
organizations including ManpowerGroup, US Bank, UMB Fund Services, HSA Bank, Aurora
Health Care and others that provide financial services, health care, employment, education,
technology and other important services. Schlitz Park is owned and managed by The Brewery
Works, Inc., the organization formed by the families that purchased the Schlitz Park property in
1983.
The Brewery Works, Inc., 1555 N. RiverCenter Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212
414.272.6302 www.schlitzpark.com