KAUKAUNA, Wis. — The NFL Draft is packed away in the history books but not for some businesses.

Two Fox Valley shops are still unpacking from the draft in a way they never expected.

Stacey Hummell owns Sweet Treats Candies and Sweets in Kaukauna. She said she was excited about the once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity — setting up shop at the NFL Draft.

“We weren’t sure what would bring business here, but I thought if I could be part of the draft, then we would certainly try to get a space close to the draft,” Hummell said.

Hummell’s NFL Draft space was steps away from the perimeter of the NFL Draft campus. With tens of thousands of fans expected, she purchased a lot of treats.   

“We ordered 720 pints of chocolate shop ice cream. We ordered, oh, probably 400 pounds of chocolate that we make our own chocolates with. We also had 210 jumbo peanut butter cups. We had close to 100 scotch-a-roo bars. We had 300 cookies. We had 30 dozen cupcakes, and we had an astronomical amount of freeze-dried candy,” Hummell said.

Hummell said their total draft sales were lackluster.

“We sold literally 30 of the 720 pints that we had ordered,” Hummell said“We sold literally 30 of the 720 pints that we had ordered,” Hummell said.

She’s not alone. Heather Karisny owns The Wandering Table food truck.

“Our most popular item is our Big Mac crunch wrap. We do smash burgers, loaded fries, cheese curds,” Karisny said. 

Karisny’s food truck was also staged near the perimeter of the NFL Draft campus. She said she planned a limited NFL Draft menu and purchased enough food for large crowds.

“I purchased 600 pounds of fries. I ordered hundreds of pounds of ground beef. I ordered tons of pounds of, like, shredded lettuce. I ordered, I have 15 cases of tortillas,” Karisny said.

Like Hummell, Karisny said they sold a very small fraction of their food. Karisny said there was not a lot of foot traffic. 

“We had a lot of people saying, ‘We didn’t know you were here, we didn’t know how to get to you, we didn’t know there were food trucks in the area,’” Karisny said.

Karisny donated some of her surplus food to the nonprofit Rooted In, whose mission is to save food from going to waste to feed those in need. Thanks to Facebook, both Karisny and Hummell are selling off most of their extras.

Hummell is still left with bins upon bins of chocolate treats and freezers full of ice cream pints.

Despite this experience, Hummell said she would do it again with one small change.

“Maybe if I could get within the footprint, I would do something like this again. Overall, it was a great experience. We met a lot of cool people,” Hummell said.

Jenny Rottier, NFL Draft food truck rally organizer, provided the following statement:

“I think the biggest disappointment that I hope the organizers understand is it wasn’t just the financial cost we’ve lost. (We= most smaller food trucks and vendors) It was the time, stress, and sleep that we lost. I have guilt over the time lost with my family preparing for this event. I was on the calls with the chambers and with the organizers. The promises I feel were very empty as the paths they created for traffic completely re-directed people away from all outside vendors. The Packer organization as well as our village/city knows how to create an event that serves all, taking into consideration fan experience regarding food and drinks. Not one vendor outside of the Draft experience was price gouging or trying to get rich. We all just wanted to be part of creating an amazing experience, limiting wait time and creating a fun event. I think the NFL and its organizers did not consider how capable we are in Wisconsin. We are built to serve, make great food, always friendly service and build a welcoming atmosphere.  The event was awesome, Green Bay did a fantastic job. I hope next time they allow the entire community to do what we’ve proven we are the best at EVERY SUNDAY.”