State Fair Park Cream Puff Pavilion renovation gets $6.5M increase

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- As cream puffs at the state fair continue to be a staple for Wisconsin residents, upgrades to the pavilion where they are made are set to happen soon.

"During the run of the fair for 11 days, we are the busiest bakery in the world with 400,000 cream puffs in 11 days," Original Cream Puffs Director of Marketing Paula Hare said.

For 99 years, the cream puffs have been at the center of the fair.

"Every year, I go to the state fair just to get a cream puff," Milwaukee resident Jack Borzynski said. "It's definitely a staple for me and my family. We grew up doing it, so I do it to this day."

It takes four hours to make one cream puff using the same recipe that fairgoers know and love.

"It's the same process as when I was younger, just seeing them do the same exact thing in the same building, so I appreciate that, seeing the same thing every year," Pewaukee resident Emily Rabl said.

Team Cream Puff tackles hundreds of thousands of pastries every year, but they have outgrown their space. In 2017, $6M was earmarked to renovate the Cream Puff Pavillion. This year, an additional $6.5M was approved in the state budget for the project. With changes to the assembly area and the commercial-grade bakery, the plan looks to improve aesthetics and productivity.

With an annual sales average of $1.3M, more staff and better crowd management are a priority.

"It's just a family tradition that stays, so well into the future, we're going to keep that tradition alive," Hare said.

Another focus of the project is to market the Cream Puff Pavilion as an event venue outside the 11 days of the fair. According to the original budget proposal, renovation could begin in March 2024.