Greenfield sports store feeling positives, negatives of Brewers run
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Jordyn Lang is getting good at delivering bad news.
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Since the Milwaukee Brewers won the National League pennant, the manager at Green and Gold Zone has found herself constantly explaining to customers the realities a small sports merchandise store faces in these historic times.
She did it more than five times in half an hour on Oct. 26, the same 30-second conversation every time.
The phone would ring, Lang would answer. Five seconds later, after the customer asked the question she knew was coming, Lang would regurgitate what's become a sort of company line as of late: They had very little Brewers World Series gear in stock, and she didn't know when more would arrive.
"We've been pretty much picked through," Lang explained to one caller. "Like everyone else."
Green and Gold Zone, at 4862 S. 74th St. in Greenfield, is first and foremost a Green Bay Packers store. But right now, the Packers are not the most relevant Wisconsin sports team. Not while the Brewers are one win from their first-ever World Series title after decades of toiling in baseball purgatory.
All this never-before-seen success is prompting fans to open their wallets and buy never-before-seen amounts of swag. The sports apparel giants of the world − like Fanatics − can prepare for and match the unprecedented demand. Local, family-owned companies − like Green and Gold Zone − cannot.
Owner Amy Hundt said it usually takes around 3 to 5 days to receive special merch; the Brewers won Game 4 of the NLCS on a Thursday, and boxes of World Series gear arrived the following Monday. Three days later, pretty much all of it was sold, with shirts and hats being the first items to go.
"The Brewers are taking the spotlight right now," Hundt said.
The last week-and-a-half, Green and Gold Zone has operated more like a blue and gold zone, selling more Brewers merch than anything else. Perhaps a temporary name change is in order.
"We've thought about that," Hundt said.
Customers sure are treating it like a Brewers store, showing up in Crew gear and heading straight to where they can buy more. They don't need to travel far.
Directly inside the entrance are two long lines of racks with only Brewers NLCS shirts. Some are from 2026, but most now say 2025 or don't have a year at all. To the left of the doors is a table with 2026 National League Champions items, including flags of multiple sizes and colors, along with decals and pins.
That's about it for World Series merchandise until the vendor delivers a new shipment, which Hundt hopes will happen sooner rather than later.
There are multiple shelves on the right side of the store dedicated to the Brewers, but they all hold generic gear.
Jean Uttke learned that the hard way. The 64-year-old Brewers fan walked in and went straight to the hat section, hoping to buy one with "World Series" written across the side for her brother, who lives in Phoenix. Seeing none, Uttke asked Hundt and Lang about it, just in case her eyes were deceiving her. They weren't.
Unable to buy any World Series merch for her brother, Uttke decided to get a new pair of Brewers earrings for herself. A particularly energized fan, Uttke said her old set fell out while cheering at a game this season, and she needed to replace them for when − in her words − the team parades around the city.
"Earrings fall out when you get really excited," Uttke said. "Or when you're turning your hat into a rally cap."
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Even though she couldn't get her brother a hat then, Uttke lives about a mile away from Green and Gold Zone and said she'd be back very soon. The small business has become her go-to for Wisconsin sports gear, and she has no plans to turn her back on them now. Even if it means waiting a few extra days.
"If they have the same merchandise as the bigger stores, I'll come over here and get it," Uttke said.
Only thing is, that's proven to be a big "if" recently.
Jack Albright covers West Allis, Greenfield, Greendale, Hales Corners and West Milwaukee. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Greenfield sports store feeling positives, negatives of Brewers run
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