PHOENIX –- In the 10 years I’ve been visiting Arizona to watch Brewers Spring Training, I’ve always been struck by the number of Milwaukeeans I run into. This year, it was a little over the top.
The evening we got in, we stopped to grab some beer at a liquor store a few blocks from the townhouse we were borrowing from our friend Chuck, a Milwaukee transplant to Arizona. The shop’s owner noticed our Brewers t-shirts and asked us if we were Milwaukeeans. When we told him yes, he said he was from Mequon and moved out to Scottsdale a few years ago. I handed him my business card, as did my friend Eron. He looked at our last names and asked if we were the sons of Larry and Floyd. This random guy knew our dads.
That night, out in Old Town Scottsdale, Chris -– another Milwaukeean in our group –- ran into a friend from Marquette High School. He hadn’t seen him since graduation.
The next day a guy struck up a conversation with our group when he overheard us talking about Milwaukee. He was from Texas, but mentioned that he had bought a vintage t-shirt that said something to the extent of “Wisconsin – Cutting The Cheese For 150 Years.” He said that he loved that shirt, but had to stop wearing it because every time he went out in public he was mobbed by Milwaukeeans. At one point, he even whipped off the shirt and put it on inside out so strangers would stop bugging him.
At Sunday’s Brewers game versus the Royals in Surprise, I overheard a peanut vendor telling a customer that he, too, was a Milwaukeean, and prior to this gig, he worked at County Stadium and Miller Park. Five minutes later, I saw a guy from my Bay View bowling league sitting 10 rows behind me.
Everywhere you look in Phoenix you see Wisconsin license plates, Packers hats and someone with a Milwaukee story.
Over the years, I’ve told OnMilwaukee.com readers about AZ88, the Scottsdale restaurant owned by Karl Kopp. I’ve written about Taliesin West, the winter home of Wisconsin’s Frank Lloyd Wright. I’ve met “snowbirds,” the lucky retirees who’ve moved to Arizona. And this year, I’ll tell you about a popular Scottsdale deli owned by and regularly visited by Milwaukeeans.
And of course, this week was Arizona Bike Week, which meant tons of Harleys rumbling through town. Other than the mountains and cacti, it was starting to feel like home (I'm told the weather was about the same, too -- go figure).
But Wisconsin is about to have an even bigger influence on the Valley of the Sun. Milwaukee chain Cousins Subs is already here, and Culver’s is on its way –- it should be interesting to see how butter burgers and frozen custard go over in the health-conscious community. Word is that Kopp is opening another restaurant, this time in downtown Phoenix.
Population growth is a big concern now in Phoenix, with hundreds of thousands of people moving to the Valley in the last six years.
It seems like at least half those people are from Milwaukee.
The evening we got in, we stopped to grab some beer at a liquor store a few blocks from the townhouse we were borrowing from our friend Chuck, a Milwaukee transplant to Arizona. The shop’s owner noticed our Brewers t-shirts and asked us if we were Milwaukeeans. When we told him yes, he said he was from Mequon and moved out to Scottsdale a few years ago. I handed him my business card, as did my friend Eron. He looked at our last names and asked if we were the sons of Larry and Floyd. This random guy knew our dads.
That night, out in Old Town Scottsdale, Chris -– another Milwaukeean in our group –- ran into a friend from Marquette High School. He hadn’t seen him since graduation.
The next day a guy struck up a conversation with our group when he overheard us talking about Milwaukee. He was from Texas, but mentioned that he had bought a vintage t-shirt that said something to the extent of “Wisconsin – Cutting The Cheese For 150 Years.” He said that he loved that shirt, but had to stop wearing it because every time he went out in public he was mobbed by Milwaukeeans. At one point, he even whipped off the shirt and put it on inside out so strangers would stop bugging him.
At Sunday’s Brewers game versus the Royals in Surprise, I overheard a peanut vendor telling a customer that he, too, was a Milwaukeean, and prior to this gig, he worked at County Stadium and Miller Park. Five minutes later, I saw a guy from my Bay View bowling league sitting 10 rows behind me.
Everywhere you look in Phoenix you see Wisconsin license plates, Packers hats and someone with a Milwaukee story.
Over the years, I’ve told OnMilwaukee.com readers about AZ88, the Scottsdale restaurant owned by Karl Kopp. I’ve written about Taliesin West, the winter home of Wisconsin’s Frank Lloyd Wright. I’ve met “snowbirds,” the lucky retirees who’ve moved to Arizona. And this year, I’ll tell you about a popular Scottsdale deli owned by and regularly visited by Milwaukeeans.
And of course, this week was Arizona Bike Week, which meant tons of Harleys rumbling through town. Other than the mountains and cacti, it was starting to feel like home (I'm told the weather was about the same, too -- go figure).
But Wisconsin is about to have an even bigger influence on the Valley of the Sun. Milwaukee chain Cousins Subs is already here, and Culver’s is on its way –- it should be interesting to see how butter burgers and frozen custard go over in the health-conscious community. Word is that Kopp is opening another restaurant, this time in downtown Phoenix.
Population growth is a big concern now in Phoenix, with hundreds of thousands of people moving to the Valley in the last six years.
It seems like at least half those people are from Milwaukee.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
