Jim and Vi Crocker of Minnesota had two stand alone root beer barrels constructed and began Crocker Enterprises at the Minnesota State Fair in 1969. Jim was invited to join Summerfest in 1973 and was already making connections with the Wisconsin State Fair. The invitation to Summerfest came as there was a demand for stand alone beverage concessions. Patrons were opposed to waiting in long food lines just for a soda.This connection with Summerfest and State Fair then expanded to the Milwaukee ethnic festivals. In 1996 the next generation, Bob Crocker, quit his full time job to take over the family business. Bob spent his summers in Milwaukee and Jim and Vi would join him to help give employee breaks and assist where they could. Bob built the business to fifteen individual barrels and the root beer float trailer. The root beer float trailer was designed, built and made its debut in 1993. Bob’s two sons Ryan and Cameron grew up helping during the summers when they could navigate around their summer swim club schedules. Sadly, Bob Crocker died in early 2013 of pancreatic cancer. Bob’s wife, Carla and son, Ryan felt to continue the family business until 2019. Upon navigating 2020 and being home for a summer with his family Ryan didn’t want to spend his summers away from his young children.
About
Root Beer MKE’s story begins in the summer of 2022. We are David and Tammy Wentlandt. We were introduced to the root beer business opportunity through our good friends Trey and Robin Fazio who own Fazio popcorn and their relationship with the Crocker family. The Fazio’s helped us in 2022 to navigate through the festivals on the Summerfest grounds and make many connections. The name Root Beer MKE was chosen during the 2022 season and in early 2023 we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. We rejuvenated three of the stand alone barrels and the root beer float trailer. Renovations include new signage, branding, lighting, sanding, painting, caulking, did we say painting and all while still navigating our full time jobs. David continued making connections with festivals at the Summerfest grounds and Wisconsin State Fair. Root Beer MKE unveiled the newly updated barrels at Polish Fest in June of 2023.Our logo was designed to honor the Crocker family’s history since 1969 and thank them for blessing us with a new phase in our lives. Carla Crocker has provided us with their history and hours of her time helping us to be successful.
Our Story
Our Vision
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This is a space to share more about the business: who's behind it, what it does and what this site has to offer. It’s an opportunity to tell the story behind the business or describe a special service or product it offers. You can use this section to share the company history or highlight a particular feature that sets it apart from competitors.
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