Andy Wilke is a Mankato native, with roots in the hospitality industry, public affairs arena, and mall management business. Andy's family started and owned the Toppers Pizza in Mankato, Andy later became a Mall Manager with General Growth Properties (eventually Brookfield properties) in Iowa, Georgia, and eventually taking over his father's role at the River Hills Mall in Mankato. Andy currently serves as the director of business development and public affairs at Greater Manakto Growth (GMG), our regional economic development chamber.
In this episode, Andy discusses coming of age while in the pizza business, his path into the mall industry, his experience working in both southern and northern U.S. cultures, his boomeranging away and back to Mankato, his experiences and favorite stores at the River Hills Mall, his family's difficulties in conceiving their two children, his semi-recent transition into a new role at GMG, and what exactly Andy and the rest of the GMG team are working on these days.
