Weber Museum? Factory Tours?


 
MartyG

MartyG

New member
Apologies if this has been discussed to death, but I'm new here. Does Weber offer tours, or do they have a history display of any kind at their plant in Illinois? I'm not that far, but don't want to show up and find locked doors. I'm especially interested in seeing older models. (Grills that is...) I know many of you have the equivalent of a museum of your own, and the pics are great. I'll post my own growing collection in a week or so when I get a chance to pose them properly.

Marty
 
Marty, I have not seen a Weber Museum, I have been there a couple of times. I understend some exectives have older modles in their offices, but not for the public. Maybe with some public demand they might display some cool old grills. If you go, the Weber resturants have old pictures hanging on the walls. Ed
 
I traded an old red smokey joe with an offset handle on top to Weber in Palatine. It was on the premise that they were collecting vintage grills to create a museum there. I have had occassional contact with people over there and there is yet to be any sort of museum. Its always "in the creation process". I hope its not sitting on some greedy employees desk for their own personal gratification. If that was the case, I would have kept it myself.

As far as the close out area for bargains...there IS a small store at the Palatine location that has limited hours. There is some cool Weber items, (t-shirts, spices, umbrellas, accessories you find at most Ace hardwares, etc.) This also happens to be the place I came across my bone or ivory colored Smokey Joe that hadnt made it across the pond yet. Its a european color only. The people working there new that I collected different colored grills, and they said they have something I might be intereted in. They came out from in back carrying the Smokey Joe new in box. I got it at quite a discount price too because it was "on sale". lol
 
Hey guys/girls, what about a Weber-fest type of event. I live in Atlanta Ga where Big Green Egg has a big event here every October, "Eggtober fest". People from all over drag their BGE to the BGE factory parking lot for a big party. I know there are other "egg" events that have started other places also. Other manufacturers have similar type of events, but eggheads seem the most organized.

I would love to see a kettlehead party, there is so much more history and versatility to Weber. I would drive up to Chicago in heartbeat! Is there any interest out there? Ed
 
It helps a lot to have the manufacturer or a dealer/retailer behind these events from a financial and organizational standpoint. The eggfest in my area was sponsored by one of the local BGE dealers and had 386 registered attendees. They arrange for cookers to be delivered, reserve a local park for the event, handle water/sanitation, necessary permits, arrange for a block of hotel rooms, etc. It's just like planning a convention. Weber has shown no interest in doing this, and not sure who would take on such a thing. I'd give it a shot if I didn't have a real job that takes up most of my time! :)

Regards,
Chris

Update: Someone brought to my attention that this thread is mentioned on another forum and that I was being criticized for my response to Ed's idea.

I didn't comment on the merits of Ed's idea in my original reply, so to be clear: I think Ed's idea is great and I would love to see it happen. As I said, if I had extra time, I'd organize it myself...but I don't, so I can't. But that shouldn't stop any one of you from stepping up and making this happen.

I wasn't being critical of the idea when I pointed out that such an event, with potentially hundreds of people, presents some logistical issues that need to be sorted out, especially if you're having a live-fire event that requires fire dept. and health dept. permits depending on the municipality. And that corporate sponsorship could help a lot if you're trying to have an Eggfest-like event, which is what Ed cited as an example in his original message.

Bottom line: If anyone here on TVWBB or elsewhere wants to take the reins on a big or small event like this, I am happy to support it in any way I can...through promotion here and on The Virtual Weber Bullet, through my monthly newsletter, through announcements on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, or other ideas you may have on how I can help.
 
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I think the eggfest started with a couple of guys in a parking lot, just like Memphis in May or Kansas City Barbecue. There are many national events that have been started by less than a dozen of enthusiasts. Imagine if a couple hundred (or thousand) Weber fans were meeting in a parking lot across from your factory, it would not take long for them to get involved. But even if they didn't, it would still be cool to meet some of you all and see your collections!
Just thinking out loud....Ed
P.S. In the past Weber has had a factory sale in Oct, don't know if they still do. That would be as good as time as any.
 
Earl D. said:
I read somewhere that they have a closeout area for bargins.
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I live in the area. If what you say were true, I would be there once a week. And I would have twice as many grills as I have now. And I would need to be on a first name basis with a divorce attorney.


I have purchased stuff there. Mostly I have purchased replacement parts. They have, at times, thrown me little tidbits, like Weber spice jars for free, but I have never seen real deals on equipment. They don't actually sell any grills.


I will be going soon since I had a wee accident. I left a bag of K and Weber starter cubes too close to my performer during a warm up, and cause a fire which melted some plastic, including the charcoal holder, and melted the gas ignition system.
 
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Watching that factory tour, I felt like I should go get all of the 'kids' so they could reminisce. Really brought a tear to my eye.

Russ
 
When I lived right down the road from the old factory they used to open up to a "invitation only" sale 1 time a year. Some stuff was like 50-70% off. I waited I line for like 2 hours to get my first gasser, saved like $350 for my troubles. Not sure if they do that anymore though? This was like 15-16 years ago.
 
A buddy of my brother-in-law's works for Weber and says they still do the "invite only" sales out at the newer facility in Huntley, Il where the warehouse is and where they manufacture the kettle grills. The Palatine factory has a small "will-call" type parts pickup window where they do have some smaller accessories on sale, but nothing you can't get at any other retailer.

It's a bit of a bummer there's no real museum or official "Weber Store" because Weber obviously has a very loyal and enthusiastic following that I'm sure would help reinforce the brand and it's history. I guess the closest thing you have are the "Weber Grill" restaurants, but I've always suspected that those are owned/operated by another entity that licenses/franchises the Weber brand name and logo.
 
Jay Crihfield said:
I guess the closest thing you have are the "Weber Grill" restaurants, but I've always suspected that those are owned/operated by another entity that licenses/franchises the Weber brand name and logo.
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The 2007 Weber corporate fact sheet was very clear:

Weber Grill® Restaurant: The Weber Grill® Restaurant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Weber-Stephen Products Co. The restaurants specialize in signature steaks, classic American barbecue, and award-winning hamburgers prepared over authentic Weber® kettle grills.
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And when Weber announced in 2010 that they had formed a partnership with BDT Capital Partners, LLC, the press release said:

The Stephen family will retain the four existing Weber-branded restaurants.
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Now, it's possible something has changed about that since 2010, but I'm not aware of any change.
 
Paul Isa said:
Was at the factory in October 2012; locked gates, no access. Customer service?
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The customer service, as far as I know, is all done over phone and email and that place is in Schaumburg IL


The factory in Huntley is closed to the public. The little parts & accessories store in Palatine is the only thing the public can get to.

I used to a know a guy that sold various gasses, including propane. (it was mostly welding supply). He would sell Weber small batches of propane. He got invited once a year to a special "vendors only" sale. Alas, that was before I caught the fever, and I lost track of him after we both moved.
 
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