USA, WI: Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company’s Wausau location to close for good on April 19

The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company’s Wausau location will close permanently on Saturday, April 19, WSAW reported.

Last month, Eliot Butler, President and co-founder issued a statement announcing the closure.

In a conversation with NewsChannel 7 last month, the Executive Chef for The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company’s restaurants Matt Pace said the closure points back to the pandemic when the large location’s event space was not being used. But he said this is not just a Great Dane issue.

“Ever since the pandemic, the restaurant industry as a whole has faced new, and sometimes, you know, tough challenges, and in particular, our location in Wausau was hit by those the most,” said Pace.

Pace pointed out the increase in core ingredient food costs has risen, increasing spending on kitchen necessities like sugar, flour, and cooking oil. He also pointed to a change in customer habits. The company has been brewing less beer because customers are drinking less beer, and they have seen fewer people coming in the doors.

“I think people are more selective with their discretionary spending, you know, maybe they have to make some choices, whereas they used to be able to, you know, dine out two or three times a week, or once or twice a week,” said Pace.

Pace said they are giving the staff who stay at the company through the closure date of April 19 a bonus. He said it was a hard decision to close the location, but it was the last card on the table.

“I don’t know a stronger word for thank you and gratitude, but that’s what it’s all about,” said Pace. “Share your fond memories, our staff will get a lot of motivation and smiles from that, so that would go a long way.”

Morgan Woodruff has worked at the Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company in Wausau for about a year and a half. She told NewsChannel 7 though the business had been slowing during her time there, she did not expect a closure.

“I was shocked, but I wasn’t surprised,“ said Woodruff. ”We haven’t had the business that we’ve had when I first started there. I also empathize with a lot of my co-workers. I have multiple jobs, especially social media, but for a lot of these people, the job is a godsend. They are high school students, they’re students in college, single parents, they’re parents who just had children... It just feels like our family’s breaking up.”

Woodruff said some of the few dozen people working at the location rely on this job as their main income. She said she wished there had been more notice.

“I know these decisions are not made overnight. It takes time to find a job and time to train and a lot of people live paycheck to paycheck, so it could impact their life in really negative ways,” said Woodruff. “It’s abrupt, I could kind of see it coming, however, I feel like there should have been more discussion and more dialogue.”

The restaurant is located at 2305 Sherman St. in Wausau.

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