Longtime Strawberry Days Festival attendees know that there are some vendors that are annual staples — and Windsor-based Woodrow Concessions LLC. is one of them.

Every year, the checkered stand with the iconic “Woody” cartoon character appears at the festival, offering tasty and one-of-a-kind treats, snacks and drinks.

Inspired by his friend and now-business partner Bill Reudel, Woodrow co-owner Steve Poss got into the concession business to earn extra income while living in Georgia. Reudel had been running a concession stand — B&M Innovative Concessions — since 2002. 

“I lived in Georgia at the time and my late wife was really sick and I needed some way to make extra income, and (Bill) suggested, ‘Hey, why don’t you start doing what I’m doing?'” Poss said. “I built a couple of counters and threw a grill together and got some root beer barrels, and I started doing this part time in Georgia just to make supplemental income to help pay some medical bills and stuff like that for my wife.”

After Poss’s wife passed away, he moved to Colorado and in 2013 joined forces with Reudel, creating Woodrow Concessions LLC. For the past 12 years, Poss and Reudel have spent March to October vending at events everywhere from Kentucky to California.

The Woodrow name was inspired by Woodrow F. Call from the miniseries “Lonesome Dove” and the unincorporated community Woodrow, Colorado. 

“My family lived in a little tiny town. I think there was a post office and a store. The town was called Woodrow, Colorado, and it was named after President Woodrow Wilson,” Poss said. “So when I started the concession deal in Georgia, when Bill helped me get it going, I needed a name, and I was like, well, I know exactly what I’m calling this.”

The people — other vendors, his employees and the customers — are Poss’s favorite part of the job.

“Every event we do, there’s a personal connection…it’s that engaging in relationships and pursuing that and having those types of people that we have helping us, it’s just that either our kids are involved and they’re in the booth or It’s that part,” Poss said. “Meet around the people you want to veer out for the most part. And I do like being a smart ass to all the public, so that works out well for me.

The people are the main reason that Woodrow Concessions has made the trip to Glenwood Springs for Strawberry Days for the past 13 years. 

Strawberry Days is one of Poss’s favorite annual festivals. It’s a chance for him to catch up with other longtime vendors and enjoy a “vacation” in Glenwood Springs. 

“One of the main reasons we continued to do Glenwood is because of the people that we have to interact with and deal with,” Poss said. “And the other vendors that are at the event are fantastic. There’s a couple you might have a little clash with here or there — that’s business…and for the most part, we probably only see most of these vendors once a year at this event but it’s like, oh, hey, thank God you’re here. I’m glad you’re here. It’s good to see you.” 

At Strawberry Days 2025, Woodrow Concessions will offer tasty tidbits like smoked jumbo turkey legs, 13 flavors of bluebell ice cream, fresh-baked waffle cones and homemade root beer and cream soda. 

“The food is fantastic. We do something a little different with our turkey legs than I think most people do,” Poss said. “We put a little extra time and a little extra effort into it. The ice cream, of course, is Bluebell. Bluebell sells itself.”

Woodrow’s root beer and cream soda is made using homemade extract from a cherished recipe that has been in Poss’s family for 130 years. The old-fashioned, uncarbonated soda is served out of an Amish barrel. 

“My grandma makes it, and she does not share any of that,” Poss said. “My mom knows how to make it, and she’s not allowed to make it until my grandma’s gone.” 

Poss and the Woodrow Concessions family set up the stand at Two Rivers Park on Thursday in preparation for the 128th annual Strawberry Days festival. He’s looking forward to three days of serving good food, joking with customers, chatting with friends and enjoying Glenwood Springs. 

“There’s a couple of events that we’ve done in the past where it’s like ‘Oh my god, these people are not happy,'” Poss said. “Glenwood is one of those places where it’s just not like that.”