Green Bay Packers player AJ Dillon and wife Gabrielle are featured in Door County Dining Guide

SISTER BAY - The "Mayor of Door County" might become The Foodie of Door County as well.

That's Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon, who is featured with his wife, Gabrielle, on the cover of the 2023 Door County Dining Guide that was published earlier in July. This year's guide also features an article about 12 of the Dillons' favorite restaurants on the Peninsula with a photo portfolio of the couple enjoying their dishes.

The guide is published and distributed annually by Door Guide Publishing, but in its previous 14 editions it usually featured a creative food photo on the cover, publisher John Nelson said. But the popular Packers player's love of Door County and the couple's social media posts about their Door County dining experiences led to this opportunity.

“Our creative director, Laurel Janisse, follows AJ and Gabrielle’s 'Dining with the Dillons' account on Instagram,” Nelson said in a news release, “and came up with the idea of featuring them on the new Dining Guide cover. Laurel managed to get in touch with Gabrielle, and the couple said they’d love to participate in the project.”

"Dining with the Dillons" is AJ and Gabrielle's food-focused Instagram account where they post about their favorite dining spots, from dive bars to fine dining, and discuss the ambience, service and other experiences of the places.

“We are absolute foodies,” Gabrielle said to writer Marise Redmann in the Door County Go! Guide also published by Door Guide Publishing. “We love trying new food, actively scout out the best spots for different cuisines, and we have experience food tasting all over the world.”

The photos for the cover and article were shot in March by Victoria Danielle, a Door County-based photographer who also photographed the couple's 2022 wedding on the Peninsula. The cover shows AJ and Gabrielle (who was about seven months pregnant with their first son at the time) dining at Dromhus, a Sturgeon Bay restaurant and event space.

Gabrielle also provided the list of the Dillons' 12 favorite restaurants, all of which are featured in the article: AC Tap and Chives, both in Baileys Harbor; Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and Boathouse on the Bay, Sister Bay; Alexander’s of Door County, Bayside Tavern and White Gull Inn, Fish Creek; Burton’s on the Bay (at Alpine Resort) and Fireside Restaurant, Egg Harbor; Island Fever Rum Bar & Grill in Jacksonport; Kitty O’Reilly’s Irish Pub in Sturgeon Bay; and Wickman House, Ellison Bay.

But don't expect one establishment to be named above the others.

“Our writer, Marise Redmann, asked Gabrielle what their favorite dining experience has been thus far in Door County,” Nelson said. “And she immediately said, 'There isn’t one Door County experience or meal that sticks out, because we appreciate the uniqueness and individuality of every meal and business. The commonality is a friendly team, great food, and a personable ambience.'”

AJ Dillon is a native of Connecticut and played football at Boston College before he was drafted by the Packers in 2020, but he has been one of Door County's most ardent unofficial ambassadors since Gabrielle, who has family on the Peninsula and is a longtime visitor, brought him there later that year.

The high-profile couple's advocacy for all there is to see and do − and eat − on the Peninsula led to AJ being called the "Mayor of Door County" before he was given a key to the county in 2021. AJ and Gabrielle continue to visit frequently and appear at special events, including the Roofing of the Goats Parade and Goat Fest in June at Al Johnson's.

To read the digital edition of the 2023 Door County Dining Guide, visit issuu.com/doorguidepublishing/docs/dining_guide_2023.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers player AJ Dillon featured in Door County Dining Guide