GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — A Green Bay area lighting company is aiming to celebrate an uniquely Wisconsin tradition.
Bay Custom Lighting has donated new, permanent outdoor lights to a local Supper Club ahead of Supper Club Day on August 31st.
Matt Budahn and Luke Holschbach are the owners of Bay Custom Lighting, they say a love for supper clubs, and their dismay over the closure of Wally’s Spot on Green Bay’s east side, prompted them to move forward with the donation.
“Luke and I grew up going to supper clubs with our families and our grandparent,” said Budahn. “They’re they’re just a part of everyday life here in Wisconsin.”
“When I think of a supper club, I’m thinking of a brandy old fashioned sweet,” said Holschbach. “It’s not just going out for dinner, it’s going before, sitting at the bar, getting a drink with your family.”
The fixture is being donated to River’s Bend Supper Club. Owner Steve VandenLangenberg says it’s important for the nostalgic restaurants to keep updated.
“The older people that lived for supper clubs, their generation is going by us,” said VandenLangenberg. “The new generation of late twenties, thirties, forties, those are people we want to attract.”
That means craft beers, updated fixtures, and new lighting, according to VandenLangenberg.
“You don’t want to see some old wood and the smell from 40 years ago,” VandenLangenberg told WTAQ. “You want to see some nice vinyl plank flooring and some of the things we’re doing today.”
Bay Custom Lighting didn’t install just any lighting fixtures. They installed state of the art, Wi-Fi enabled color changling lights that can be enabled through an app. Bay Custom Lighting intends to donate even more fixtures in the future.
Former Governor Scott Walker first declared August 31st as ‘Supper Club Day’ back in 2017.
