FEATURED AFFILIATES BOWLING CENTERS ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN FLANIGAN DISTRIBUTING INC. Special events and celebrations may be cancelled for now, but Brian Flanigan is turning that into a good-will gesture by using freed-up Flanigan Distributing refrigeration units to provide the nonprofit Door County Meals Cooperative additional storage for meal drop locations. According to Flanigan, “Nobody’s sure what the future may bring, but we can control what we can and help how we can help.” Flanigan says he is really proud of Flanigan Distributing’s business portfolio, but today, he is even prouder of how Door County communities are stepping up to help their neighbors and friends during this uncertain time of COVID-19. For instance, you can find an online Door County Tip Jar at doorcountyfood.com/virtualtipjar, which was established to financially care for Door and Kewaunee county servers. “We’re pretty concerned about them, and being a seasonal area, we want to keep those people around and motivated to be here, so when things start happening, we have servers,” Flanigan explains. Door County is getting hit hard and is going to continue to struggle with the extended quarantine, Flanigan says. The on-premise is going to do its best to survive and, with some new summer offerings, he’s optimistic business owners can be creative in making sales however they can. He says craft brews continue to be popular and he offers many — from local Door County Brewing to One Barrel Brewing, Potosi Brewing Company, Fox River Brewing Company and its newest partner, Third Space Brewing from Milwaukee.
Yvonne Bennett is the executive director for the Bowling Centers Association of Wisconsin (BCAW), which she says has been a TLW affiliate member for about three years. This nonprofit organization supports bowling centers and other businesses that have 10-pin bowling. Bennett says the BCAW has a common link with TLW membership; many of its taverns, restaurants and even pizzerias offer 10-pin lanes. She says just under 300 businesses offer 10-pin lanes in Wisconsin and more than 200 are members of the BCAW. She explains that the average bowling center in Wisconsin is 12 lanes, but many smaller businesses may have just two lanes. Because of that, the fee to join the BCAW is prorated based on the number of bowling lanes an establishment has, which allows smaller facilities the ability to afford a variety of trade opportunities. Bennett points out that a BCAW membership is a great option for TLW members with 10-pin bowling, especially because it pays for itself in the many benefits available to members. Due to its affiliation with the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA), according to Bennett, BCAW members have access to amazing discounts and rates on various services with its SmartBuy program and vendor participants, such as PepsiCo, Sysco and First Data, among many others. Education is another appealing benefit of the BCAW program. Bennett explains that, thanks to a national affiliation with BPAA, members have a wealth of online programs to use. “We pay for the BPAA’s entire catalog of online education for our members and it’s free to them all year long,” she confirms.
“We’re really happy to have them — they are one of the fastest growing craft brewers in Wisconsin,” Flanigan says of Third Space. “The craft companies continue to push the envelope.”
“Our core mission is to enhance our members’ profitability,” Bennett adds. “People join a trade association to help make money and we know that. We want to make that happen and make resources possible for centers that wouldn’t otherwise have them.”
It is difficult as some craft breweries have reduced production temporarily, but Flanigan says the shelves in stores are starting to fill up more than they were when this first began, which is a good sign for everybody.
One of those resources is youth programming, which reaches nearly 3,000 families each year through events and leagues at BCAW member facilities.
“Conversations are taking place, as all TLW members know and are a part of, so we’ll start to see more new items being rolled out,” he adds. He says items like Bud Light Lemonade and hard seltzers are going to be hot sellers this summer, too.
Bennett believes that TLW members with bowling lanes and businesses have a great opportunity to learn, network and benefit from membership in both organizations. In fact, she spends a lot of time talking with BCAW members about the TLW if they aren’t already involved.
The truth is that these conditions are a big hit to distributors and taverns, according to Flanigan, but as a TLW family, we all stand together, working collaboratively to make sure the summer spirit continues, even if it looks different in 2020.
She says the BCAW is excited to be a part of the TLW as an affiliate member, enjoying the biannual trade shows and conventions, as well as the opportunity to meet people from all over the state and learn how they run their individual businesses.
FLANIGAN DISTRIBUTING INC.
5600 Gordon Rd., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 (920) 743-2036
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On Premise
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MAY/JUNE 2020
BOWLING CENTERS ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN
21140 W. Capitol Dr., Pewaukee, WI 53072 (262) 783-4292 | bowlwi.com
www.tlw.org
