HANOVER TWP., Pa.- There are perks to being a tenant of a particular business park outside Allentown.
On a nice day, one of the newer kids on the block might bring out the craft soda truck, and suddenly an ice-cold mug brimming with a signature flavor like Vanilla Cream, Black Cherry or Blue Raspberry is just a tug-on-the-tap away.
Signature Wild Bill’s mobile unit
Wild Bill’s Craft Beverage Company is now a member of the Lehigh Valley business community, after moving its headquarters from Millington, New Jersey, to Marcon Blvd. in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
“I wish we had moved here sooner,” CEO Michael Quilty told 69 News.
If you frequent festivals in the region, you may have wet your whistle with a Wild Bill’s concoction. The Western-themed pop-up “saloons” are at the core of the company’s business, which was founded more than 20 years ago.
Quilty didn’t start Wild Bill’s, but he did take the baton and run with it when he saw an opportunity to help the company grow its footprint while supporting veterans in need of a job after transitioning back to civilian life.
Veterans helping veterans
Quilty, a Binghamton, New York native, served nine years in the U.S. Navy before founding and later selling his own healthcare company in 2011.
He was trying to figure out his next move when he attended a veterans’ retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There he met a number of Marines who had held senior positions in the military. “They’d gotten out and they didn’t have a job, or if they had a job, the job didn’t reflect the quality of the person,” he said. “And so at that event I said I want to find ways to employ these people.”
Wild Bill’s CEO Michael Quilty inside the Hanover Township warehouse
Quilty became a Wild Bill’s franchise owner in Texas in 2017 and then bought the entire business the following year. The company expanded into places like Chicago, Illinois; Tampa, Florida; and San Diego, California.
“It was a little $1 million business that was a $10 million business and just growing, growing, growing and creating great jobs for veterans,” said Quilty.
A new era
Then COVID hit, and suddenly the community events that were Wild Bill’s bread and butter were no longer happening. But people were still jonesing for their craft soda fix. “We had thousands of people DM us and email us and text us, saying, ‘Where can I get the soda if you’re not doing an event?’” Quilty said.
And so Wild Bill’s entered its canned soda era. It was becoming clear that the company, which was still based in New Jersey at that point, needed a little more elbow room. Quilty began speaking with real estate brokerage firms. “When we said we need access to good people, access to shipping lanes, quality warehouse space, quality leadership, a great place to live, they all said, ‘Lehigh Valley.’”
The Marcon Blvd. location has office space and a warehouse big enough to hold a million cans of soda. The place is packed with pallets showcasing Wild Bill standards- Cola, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, etc. – and more than a few outside-the-box offerings, like Pickle, Pumpkin Spice, and a new collaboration with Ring Pop candy that has yielded exceptionally sweet options like Strawberry and Watermelon.
Interior of the Wild Bill’s warehouse
Wild Bill’s soda is caffeine free and made with real cane sugar (none of that “high fructose corn syrup hullabaloo,” the company’s website boasts). There are also sugar-free options and even soda-free options (tea, lemonade) for those who don’t like the fizzy stuff.
Finding the beverages in stores in the Lehigh Valley is a little tricky. They’re not in the major grocery store chains, like Giant, Weis or Wegmans, but rather in smaller specialty stores like Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop in Bethlehem and Emmaus, or FYE in the Lehigh Valley Mall.
But Wild Bill’s is looking into expanding into more brick-and-mortar locations, and, in the meantime, its products are available on several online platforms, including its own website.
Mug mania
It’s probably obvious by this point- Wild Bill’s is a beverage company, right? Well… yes and no. “It’s really a mug company more than a soda company,” said Chris Norvold, vice president of operations.
Turns out, just like Musikfest-goers make it a point to pick up the festival’s new commemorative mug year after year, Wild Bild’s has amassed its own dedicated following of mug connoisseurs. And there are plenty to choose from: stainless steel mugs, insulated mugs, tankards, and barrel mugs in all varieties of colors and designs.
Some of the mugs offered by Wild Bill’s
Some of the mugs are event-specific or collectors’ items only available online. But all have a lifetime warranty, which the company is serious about honoring.
Quilty relayed a story about a customer who reached out with a request for a replacement for a Wild Bill’s mug he’s had for 18 years. “We asked him, how did it get so beat up? And he’s like, ‘Oh, I use it for feeding my horses.'”
It’s still about helping veterans
With a workforce of 18, Wild Bill’s is fully staffed at its headquarters in Hanover Township. But the company is hoping to grow its franchise base, including right here in the Lehigh Valley.
Exterior of Wild Bill’s new Hanover Township HQ
“Our team is out doing events this year, building the route, and then when a franchisee comes in, it’s like, guess what? It’s already here. Here are the festivals they can start. They’re not starting from nothing,” Quilty said.
There are about 20 Wild Bill’s franchisees in the U.S., taking their mobile units to hundreds of events in several states. Last year, they did 504 events. This year, Wild Bill’s is hoping to be a presence at 600 of them, including 30 in Pennsylvania. The company also wants to increase the number of franchises to 10.
Chris Norvold and Michael Quilty
Not all of the current franchises are veteran-owned, but Wild Bill’s core mission remains providing viable business opportunities for veterans.
“That’s still the heart of it,” said Norvold, a native of Wisconsin who served in the U.S. Army for ten years.
Wild Bill’s offers veterans who want to become franchisees discounted fees upfront as well as financing options.
“This is all great,” Norvold said, gesturing to the fully stocked warehouse, “but it’s more about, come along with us as we help those friends, those veterans and those franchisees continue to grow and blossom.”