Discover Pulaski: How the Barnyard Estates will Help Preserve Local Cheese History

They say time flies, and this is true. The summer for us has been like the wind, really breezing by, so much that it’s time for another update on the Barnyard Estates Journey.

First, on July 28, 2023, we had a fun road trip to the Cheese Capital of the World, Plymouth, Wisconsin. With four major cheese factories in this location, it is estimated that 10-15% of the nation’s cheese production is processed and sold from Plymouth. If a person wants to learn about cheese, enjoys local history, and a good sandwich, The Cheese Counter; a dairy heritage center in Plymouth, Wisconsin is the place to stop. 

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How does this visit to Plymouth relate to our community project? We’re glad you asked. Inside the Barnyard Estates, we will have something similar to the Cheese Counter. Right now, we’re calling our heritage center: Discover Pulaski. We’ve been reaching out to local cheese factories like Belgioioso, with the hopes of helping them tell their story of how they settled in Wisconsin and started producing cheese. We believe getting these factories on board with the Barnyard Estates early will be essential to the success of the project.  Being on the local board for the Pulaski Area Historical Society has given me a little insight into the small cheese factories that were located on every corner in small rural communities, so in addition to the larger factories, I know that we are also working on the history of our local farmers and how these cheese factories started. Interestingly enough, I recently learned, through a local resident of her grandfather, who was considered to be one of the first milk haulers in the area. (This is another story I am working on.) Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 16, 2023, for a Milk & Cookies Historical Event on the Milk Strikes that are a part of our history. The event is free to the public, and we encourage anyone that has an interest in local agricultural history to be part of this educational event. Cookies, milk and coffee will be provided.

The Cheese Counter gave us some great ideas that we hope to incorporate into the Barnyard Estates plan. As examples: a historical timeline on the wall, old photographs, interactive displays, souvenirs and local products sold within the store (not just cheese). It was an old building that was restored, which included an elevator. If you ever have the opportunity to swing visit the Cheese Counter, I highly recommend it. Meanwhile, if you have connections to any of the local cheese factories and would like to make sure they tell their story, send the right contacts to me or any other Promote Pulaski board member or steering committee member. One thing to keep in mind with this community project is that “local” will take precedence over everything else. Here are photos from our trip.

Bringing awareness of this project is especially crucial, so each week, meetings are held with key individuals that we believe may lead us to “greener pastures”. Within the last couple of weeks, we’ve talked to SLO, which is a farmer co-operative in northeastern Wisconsin founded in 2014, and committed to providing quality farm products that sustain both our family farms and our environment. Our contact, Heather Toman, was excited about the project, and we are looking forward to a tour of the farm in the near future. In business, it is my strategy to make sure that we have the right people on the bus, in the right seats to ensure we get to the final destination. This project is no different. We need to find the right people.

It’s all about building awareness around the project. Last week I also met up and provided details on the project with Joe Wojkiewicz, an owner of two manufacturer facilities in Northeast Wisconsin, Highview Custom Fabricating and NEW Industrial Coatings. Sharing ideas, brainstorming, collaborating and connecting is essential with the Barnyard Estates. If you are a business owner, or know someone who might be interested in this community project, please connect with me. I’d be happy to share the Barnyard Estates mission and ideas with you.

As a committee, and also in discussions with Keller, we realize that it is important the project is done right. We want to make sure that it will work, for the community and for tenants within. This week, Bruce and I met up with Howard Zernicke, who is on the zoning committee for the Village of Pulaski. Howie provided us with his thoughts moving forward. The property that the structure will be located does have limitations, specifically in the area of parking. This we did talk about initially. Some suggestions that Howie had was the possibility of underground parking, and possibly taking the recreational space to a lower level. On Monday, we are meeting virtually with Keller to discuss these challenges once again. Greg and Jeremy, our contacts at Keller believe that spending more time in the planning process will help us save time later on. Which brings me to the committee’s decision to reschedule the Big Barnyard Estates Presentation which is now tentatively set for Tuesday, September 26, 2023. We will confirm this after our meeting tomorrow. 

Finally, on Friday, August 11th, we visited Fast Fiberglass, a fiberglass manufacturer located in Sparta, Wisconsin that produces larger-than-life animals and roadside attractions to individuals, businesses and organizations all over the United States. Our intent of this trip was to get ideas for a tourist attraction that could be located on-site at the Barnyard Estates. One of the goals of Promote Pulaski, is to build tourism in Pulaski - bring people to Pulaski on a consistent basis. Ryan Lakowske, the owner of Fast Fiberglass, has a niche business. Our gears really started to turn after Scott provided us with a tour of the facility. Cows are one of their specialities and definitely something that could be an accessory to the project. Whatever route we decide to take, we know Fast Fiberglass has the passion and experience to help us put the finishing touches on our project.

Interested in helping bring the Barnyard Estates project to Pulaski, Wisconsin? Reach out to Tammy or Bruce at 920-822-4450 during the day, or send an email to promotepulaski@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to share the Barnyard Estates project with you or your organization.

Polka'ing Right Along; The Latest Barnyard Updates

Meet Promote Pulaski Board Member, Zach Brzeczkowski who performed at Pulaski Polka Days 2023.

Pulaski Polka Days, the largest polka fest in the United States, is held in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Shown here in the photo is Promote Pulaski Board Member, Zachary Brzeczkowski. Zach is the drummer for "Live Wire" and "The Mix" who performed during Pulaski Polka Days. The event brings together thousands of people from all over the world. We are super excited to be a part of this celebration. However, the downside of this event, along with Casimir Pulaski Days is, these two events are the only really large events that attract people from all over the world to Pulaski, Wisconsin. What is unique about the Barnyard Estates Project is that we are focusing on bringing people to Pulaski all year round by the development of businesses, community events, a cultural/heritage center, a Polish restaurant and a unique recreational area. The project when completed will be operating synchronically with these events.

Here’s just a quick Barnyard Project Update to keep you in the loop. We have a few upcoming meetings on the calendar. August 1st, we’ll be meeting with Steve Schneider (owner of the 1001 Club) who is currently working on a huge renovation project at the VIC Theater to discuss his project and pick his brain for questions about the Barnyard Estates project. This will be a great discussion.

On August 11th a scheduled tour with Fast Fiberglass in Sparta, Wisconsin is in store for us. They are excited to show us some of their larger than life-like projects. We hope to get some ideas and learn more about what they do, and how they might be able to help create a large attraction for the Barnyard Estates.

On August 15, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. we are meeting with owners Kayla and Mike from Karvana, a coffee house in Green Bay to show them the project to see if it is in alignment with their vision for a possible expansion project into Pulaski. This is the second coffee house that we will be meeting with. In the afternoon, a visit with John Reinders, Associate Dean of Business at NWTC has been added to the calendar, and we’ll discuss and brainstorm about how the Barnyard Estates could work together with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

The new steering committee members will be introduced at a zoom meeting at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 16th. The Discovery research from Keller will be presented to everyone, and a brief plan of how we will proceed moving forward with the steering committee.

There will be a special presentation on The Barnyard Estates project, August 24, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. at Keller in Kaukauna. Light snacks and refreshments will be served for those in attendance. The presentation will provide special guests information about the Barnyard Estates mission and an overview of the tentative design plans. The purpose of the presentation is to bring awareness to a select group of individuals and businesses, with the hopes of obtaining support to propel the project forward. In addition, Board members and steering committee members will be on hand for the presentation. There will be limited space at this meeting so if you have any suggestions about who we should invite to this meeting please send an email with the contact information to Tammy@dynamicdesignspulaski.com at your earliest convenience.

Finally, we are working on a brochure for the project that we can hand out at the meeting, and also a form that we can provide business at the meeting that will give us a general idea of their interest and how we can follow up with them after the presentation.

Slowly but surely we will keep the needle in motion on the Barnyard Estates. Our intentions are to bring you updates every week on how the project is progressing. Feel free to reach out to Tammy or Bruce during the day at 920-822-4450 for any questions or ideas you may have for the project. Let's keep things rolling without skipping a beat.

Join the Utterly Exciting Movement: Barnyard Estates Project Update

 

Chatty Belle, World’s Largest Talking Cow located in Wisconsin, an inspiration for the Barnyard Estates project.

This week has been utterly fun, and yes the pun is intended - you’ll see later on. On Monday, July 10, 2023,  we presented our project to Terry Handstedt, Partner of MCL Industries,  and Tonya Dittman, Director of Engagement at the Village Companies. Tonya Dittman was raised in Advance, Wisconsin. Her background with Miron Construction Co, Inc. a design-build, industrial, and general construction service in the US will be a benefit to the group as she intends on joining the steering committee. Both individuals were excited about the project and asked what the next steps would be moving forward. 

The Pulaski Area Chamber of Commerce held their monthly meeting on Wednesday morning of this week, so an update on the Barnyard Estates journey was provided. There was excitement, along with a lot of questions on how everything will work together, the logistics of it. However, it was explained to them that the project is huge and the goal is to have an estimate on the project costs by July 31, 2023, so we can move forward with our fundraising efforts. We need to have a clear understanding of the cost of the project so that we can include it into the details of the business plan. The key focus of the steering committee will be to help brainstorm a clear plan of how business and community will help not only propel the project forward, but sustain everyone in the Barnyard Estates.

On Thursday, Village Trustee, Stephanie Rodgers also agreed to assist us on the steering committee. She believes that the project will be a great asset to the community. Stephanie has a strong background in accounting and has resources available for helping non-profits that might come in handy as we move forward.

On Thursday, I met an individual from another non-profit (Strike Up A Chord) at a coffee shop in Green Bay, Karvarna, which is located on Broadway. My first impression of the Karvarna Coffee House was  “community”. The Barnyard Estates “commons area” to me would definitely be an atmosphere like the Karvarna I experienced. If you get a chance to stop out and experience it, it was definitely an inspiration. One thing I thought was really interesting is that sourcing local food is very important to Kavarna. They source foods from the local agriculture as much as possible, and they work with local producers such as Full Circle Community Farms (Seymour), Lamers Dairy (Appleton), and SLO Farmers Co-op (Wisconsin) and many more throughout the Farmer’s Markets in Green Bay. In fact, I reached out to SLO Farmers Co-Op and received a response from Heather Toman, the general manager wanting to learn more about the organization. What’s really exciting is that SLO is headquartered in Hofa Park, Wisconsin. I will be reaching out to Heather this week to set up a time to meet.

Interestingly enough, that same day, I attended the Summer Market on Military Avenue in Green Bay. Here is the website to learn more. One of the thoughts of the Barnyard Estates would be to have in-door and out-door markets. As I walked around, I had the opportunity to talk with a few vendors. Two vendors in particular were from Suring and Green Bay and may be potential targets for the shared kitchen in the Barnyard Estates. Currently, they create from scratch home baked goods in their own home. By the way, I walked away with some delicious treats and business cards that I will add to our potential vendors list in google docs.

Finally, at our last meeting, we were brainstorming, and discussion about having a large “cow” or some kind of attraction in front or near the Barnyard Estates Building. In my research this week, I came across a Wisconsin company (Sparta) called FAST Fiberglass, a manufacturer that creates larger than life animals for businesses and roadside attractions. I reached out to them for a tour and Ryan Lakowske is more than excited to accommodate us. We are working on a date to visit the company the last week in July or first week of August.

The next steps? On Thursday, July 31, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. we will meet in Kaukauna with the Keller Team to go over the Discovery Meeting, which will include plans and comps. On August 16th, an early morning zoom meeting will be scheduled to introduce the three new individuals to the Promote Pulaski Board of Directors. We’ll probably have some discussion about the presentation meeting - which is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, August 24, 2023. The plan is to hold an evening presentation “by invitation only” on-site at Keller to present the Barnyard Estates project. Our goal is to obtain as much support, and yes, financial backing before we begin the fundraising to “build the barn.” This week we will work on creating content for the invitation along with the list of potential community individuals and businesses we believe we can partner with to bring this exciting project to fruition by March 2025. If you know of anyone that should be included on the list, please forward their contact information to tammy@dynamicdesignspulaski.com. As I mentioned at the beginning of this update, it’s been utterly fun researching, meeting with like-minded people and building the momentum of the project. 

Local Business Concepts: A Look at Revolution Public Market and The Barnyard Estates

This week we finished up our discovery meeting with Keller with a trip to the Revolution Public Market located at 2160 Holmgren Way, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The concept of small businesses operating together, yet separately, in one location, under one roof, is what the Revolution Public Market is about. This type of concept from what we understood offered entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their business, or to see if their business could even be a sustainable business. Bringing new ideas to the community is a focus of the Revolution Public Market. Currently, there are only two businesses operating at this location; Bountiful Boards and Souper Day Green Bay.

The Barnyard Estates has a similar mission to the Revolution Public Market, in the fact that several small separate businesses operate individually inside or under one structure. However, despite a similar mission, there are many differences as well as similarities between the two, which I would like to discuss in an effort to gain a better understanding of what the Barnyard Estates is all about.

The Focus is Local. Between both entities the focus is around local business and community this is true. With that being said The Barnyard Estates "local focus" means within Pulaski and surrounding communities. This will be a priority. Doing business locally within the community will be a stress point with our businesses and any marketing Promote Pulaski does to help generate business and tourism in Pulaski, Wisconsin. The Revolution Public Market, which is located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with a population of over 106,000 doesn't necessarily give it that "local focus" or drive. I call it a "warm fuzzy" feeling. The Barnyard Estates, is located in a village that has around 4,000 people. It's the feel of a small town, and supporting those not only within the Barnyard Estates but also in the Village and surrounding small towns and communities will be important.

Independent & Connected - The concept of community with the Revolution Public Market is definitely on a lot smaller scale than that of The Barnyard Estates. Just by visualizing, we estimated the initial floor space at 1000-1500 square feet. There was a common area to sit and relax in the middle of the businesses, which is a concept of the Barnyard Estates. However, our first impression when we walked in was "what's going on here." There wasn't a clear definition of what kind of businesses occupied the space. The signage was confusing to us as first time visitors. In fact, without talking to the owner of Bountiful Boards, I wouldn't have really known what she did, or what type of businesses were involved. One of the challenges we discussed during our discovery meetings with Keller was what type of signage would be appropriate. The Barnyard Estates signage would need to be prominent at the entrance, with smaller or digital signage indicating other businesses were under the barnyard roof so to say. Inside The Barnyard Estates there would be clear and consistent signage for each space.

Hours of Operation - The Revolution Public Market allowed for different businesses to operate at different times, with no consistent hours. This definitely allows for flexibility for the business owners, however, confusing to the patrons entering the structure or planning on visiting the Revolution Public Market. The Barnyard Estates will have set hours for the building, and at the same time recommendations provided to the tenants on how many hours the business be open during the time the business is open to the public. In fact, we will be utilizing technology to open and close spaces automatically and systematically. Key fobs will be a necessity for all who reside within or lease spaces, and any tenants will be able to access the building at anytime. 

Building Design - This is where we learned that partnering with an organization like Keller, is a definite plus for the building design. Planning, questions and understanding the concept and what the building and spaces will be used for is extremely important initially. It's not just taking a plan and placing businesses and spaces within in it. It's knowing how many people will be in each space so we can get square footage. It's understanding the flow of the building so that it makes sense to the tenants and the visitors and people that use the space. It's even knowing what the general feel or ambience of the building. As an example the Barnyard Estates will be rustic, modern and open, utilizing wood, steel and glass. When we entered the Revolution Public Market, it didn't seem as though any of these questions were asked with the current floor plan design. In fact, it felt confusing and cold with the use of unpainted (or uncoated) cement floors and big glass door - with no separate entrance.

Occupants|Tenants - Both entities need tenants to support and maintain the building. The Revolution Public Market appears to seek out any business that is local, has new ideas and new concepts and gives them an opportunity to grow their business. The Barnyard Estates is a little different, however small business is important to The Barnyard Estates. As an example, having 3-4 anchor businesses that currently serve the community, or will be serving a specific need will be important to help sustain the concept of The Barnyard Estates. In fact, the Barnyard Estates will have outlets for food trucks that will make it convenient for these smaller operations and to be able to offer food options is important to the steering committee. The Polish Restaurant (Prince of Pierogi) and Cultural Center & Retail shop are specifically designed to bring more tourists to Pulaski, Wisconsin. The Coffee Shop/Breakfast space is a need currently in the community. The shared kitchen will serve so many. From caterers, pastry chefs, bread makers, confectioners, to cooking classes, cookie decorating, canning with the family and so much more. The community event room, another needed space that will allow individuals and businesses to rent the room for birthday parties, graduations, showers, rummage sales, farmers markets, corporate training and educational events will be available to the community. The commons area will allow residents and non-residence a place or an outlet to stop for a few minutes, eat, work, socialize and even a space to hold indoor farmers markets or musical events. Every space within The Barnyard Estates has been strategically designed for the needs of the community and small businesses. The second floor space that will house more professional type businesses, co-shared business space, conference room rentals and more.

All in all, seeing first hand and stepping into a building with a similar concept to the Barnyard Estates was a great experience for the group. It allowed us to get a feel for building design, the ambience and even the flow of the businesses within. It also helped us to understand why there are so many details and questions in an initial discovery meeting. It helped us to understand why so much time up front will save a lot of time down the road. Through this first impression, we feel that we have so much more purpose and passion for Pulaski, and for building The Barnyard Estates. Knowing that we are not just putting up a building but serving the community in a way that will bring people together. A building that will be built by the people, for the people in more ways than one.

What's in store for this coming week? We'll be meeting with a local business to share our dream of The Barnyard Estates, and hopefully gain some additional support of the project. By the end of this week we will be determining the cost of the project, and by July 31st, a new building design that is much more in-tune to our project needs. In August we plan to do a formal presentation, to an elite group of businesses and individuals that will help us propel the project forward and gain support and financial backing. If you have an interest in learning more about the Barnyard Estates and would like to be included in this August (evening) meeting which will be held at Keller in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, email: promotepulaski@gmail.com, or call Tammy at 920-655-4587.

Promote Pulaski Meets Again To Discover "Measure Twice and Cut Once" is a Sure Thing

Measure twice, and cut once. Words I can clearly hear my dad saying. Meaning that you should take your time and do your research and details before you start any project. After five hours of deliberation at Keller today, we called it quits on a Friday afternoon. We completed a lot, however, we still have a lot to do before the discovery process is complete.

Summarizing what was discussed today would be the preliminary details of space and usage for the entire first floor of the Barnyard Estates. This information that we completed today, will be enough for a conceptual design, or a bubble diagram that we should be able to have for a July 10th meeting with a tentative partner or financial contributor. However, there are several of us that have some homework prior to completing this information.

Not only did we discuss building, room, and even workspace build-out specifications, but we brainstormed ideas about how we would bring in potential partners. The question was how do we intend on presenting our ideas? What ideas or incentives can we bring to the table that would excite them. A cultural center or space was mentioned, specifically, Valley Queen Cheese Factory in South Dakota. They have a heritage center on Main Street in Milbank. The heritage center and cheese shop invites visitors to take a step back in time and learn about the founding and 91-year history of the company. A cultural or heritage center could be a space in the Barnyard Estates (possibly the wine and cheese/retail space) that creates a wall or an area to tell the story of Belgioioso, a company that was founded in 1979 by Errico Auricchio, whose great-grandfather was a cheese manufacturer in Italy. Auricchio started the first company in Denmark, Wisconsin. Another concept was the Cheese Counter and Dairy Heritage Center in Plymouth, Wisconsin, another road trip is planned to tour this facility and research ideas in the nearby future. 

Signage was discussed and determined that a monument-type signage with a simple digital sign underneath would be the plan. The individual businesses inside would have signage within, but would we would need to develop a structure or guideline for that. We also discussed something unique to the landscape, like a silo (with logos on it.) or even a large monument like a cow, an egg, or a large piece of cheese that would attract tourists to the Barnyard Estates. Could this also be a potential naming rights space? Absolutely. At the last meeting, a grainery-style gazebo would be important for the outdoor seating area. A couple of images below, just for visualization purposes.

As a group, we believe that one more discovery meeting will be needed to complete the first phase of this process. A meeting date will be determined this week. Keller will work on finishing the conceptual design before July 10th. Until then, we all need a little rest and relaxation from this extensive meeting. LOL, then we'll recharge and keep moving forward.

Discovery Meeting with Keller Structures Nearly Complete

On Friday, June 16th, 2023, Promote Pulaski members spent the entire morning at Keller, Inc. in Kaukauna for a Discovery Meeting on the Barnyard Estates Project. Some members also participated virtually. Keller has been in business since 1960, definitely a plus for the project at hand. Their longevity in the industry proves they will be a valuable asset to the Barnyard Estates and the community of Pulaski, Wisconsin.

In this discovery meeting - there were questions, questions, and more questions. Greg along with Jeremy from Keller led us in our discussion of the Barnyard Estates project.

We determined the overall look of the barnlike structure will be somewhat intertwined with a rustic and modern appearance - definitely more than 50% rustic. Lighting, building flow, what we liked about the first design, what we didn’t like, bathroom facilities, building materials, parking, capacity, and purpose of the rooms - it was all about details. Honestly, we had no idea how much was put into the building process.

This Friday, June 23rd, we return again and finish the discovery process, specific details about each of the spaces will be discussed.

The steering committee is a work in progress. We have a few new people on board that haven’t quite gotten their feet wet in the project and for a good reason. Our main goal is to finalize the building project details now that we’ve determined Keller Structures will be a partner in the project. Once these project details are finalized we’ll have a better grasp on what the total project will cost, therefore a better understanding of the direction we will need to take with financing and fundraising. As an example, knowing the square footage cost will help us with a formula for naming rights so that when we approach our corporations and private individuals we can provide actual numbers.

The Keller communication process so far has been nothing short of amazing, so we are anticipating for the most part “smooth” sailing in working with them. They are super excited to be working with us, and as a partner, they have committed to being part of the fundraising campaign process, where they intend on being present and providing guidance and will share their expertise along the way. What else could you ask for? For more information on Keller visit the website. at https://kellerbuilds.com/

Thank you to the Promote Pulaski Board Members that have been participating in the discovery meeting. We appreciate all that you are doing! #kellerbuilds #promotepulaski #barnyardestates

What Will Be In The Barnyard Estates?

Behind the scenes the Promote Pulaski has been working hard on The Barnyard Estates. We now have a plan that we can share with potential businesses, sponsors and donors. It's the visual that we knew was the key to starting the capital campaign. It's a big project, and we are finalizing the numbers so we know what our end goal is.

Honestly, we are all very new to this, but we are all very passionate. This week we reserved some great advice from a fundraising "expert", well, maybe not expert, but someone that has experience with fundraising. Our next steps include setting some very specific goals, and we'll be appointing a spokesperson, and possibly having a few other join our steering committee to ensure we get the project completed.  We do know that it is going to take a lot of work, but it will be worth it. If you are interested in joining us, please feel free to reach out to Tammy at 920-822-4450, Bruce 920-621-6899 or email us at PromotePulaski@gmail.com.

If you'd like to learn a little more about The Barnyard Estates and what our focus is, watch our video.