Historic Cannery Buildings in Downtown Green Bay Reopen This Week

There is new life once again for several historic buildings most recently known as The Cannery Public Market of Green Bay. Renamed The Cannery and reopening this week, the large buildings take up several blocks in the heart of the city and have been renovated into a test kitchen for food and beverage entrepreneurs.

“We are thankful to be able to be in The Cannery,” FiveThumbsUp Owner Jill Schultz says. “It will help make it affordable for businesses that are just getting started with no build-out cost.”

Along with FiveThumbsUp, Irie Jamaican, Colombian Flavors, and Titletown Brewery will be the first anchors of The Cannery. Titletown Brewery already had space in The Cannery Public Market when it shut down completely in the early days of the pandemic and since 2020, remained closed.

Now, as those involved in the next phase of The Cannery celebrate its official grand opening this week, the focus is on entrepreneurs who are in the local, early-stage creation of food and beverage items, and giving them the opportunity to collaborate with professional chefs. The Cannery is also looking for more dreamers to apply and be part of this project.

It’s a brand new idea for the Green Bay area, but when you look back in time, it doesn’t fall far from the original use of The Cannery buildings in the Broadway District.

Slice of Wisconsin: There’s a History of Food at The Cannery

I remember as a little kid, traveling in to Green Bay with my family to visit relatives. We always drove past the Broadway area and you could smell the vegetables. 

Yes, peas and corn were being canned at what was The Larsen Cannery. Opened in 1890, The Larsen Cannery is still considered home for the second oldest pea cannery in Wisconsin. 

Over the years, it grew to cover four city blocks, employed thousands who were now canning foods of all types and being shipped all over the country.

By the 1980s and multiple owners later, the canning operation was moved out of the state. Most of the buildings sat empty for years.

It took until the mid-1990s for businesses owners, residents, and city officials to realize the value of the Broadway District and its many historic buildings, including The Larsen Cannery. 

Working at FOX 11 TV in Green Bay at the time, we did countless stories on the crime-fighting in the area (robberies, shootings, and a strip club shut down), the formation of On Broadway, Inc., and eventual national recognition for the incredibly quick revival happening in the Broadway business district. Those involved emphasized the reuse and rehabilitation of existing buildings. Many have been designated as historic, and if you drive or walk along Broadway today, it’s hard to imagine what the area would look or feel like if the wrecking ball had been brought in. 

The early vision to revitalize continues with this second reopening of The Cannery.

It also means these buildings remain a central place in Green Bay’s downtown and its importance as an early cannery in the state. History is helping keep a focus on food as part of the building’s past and its future.