{"id":2302378,"date":"2024-07-20T12:15:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T16:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/downtown-milwaukee-restaurants-see-lackluster-business-during-rnc-would-have-just-closed-my-doors-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-20T12:21:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T16:21:51","slug":"restaurants-in-downtown-milwaukee-struggle-during-rnc-face-potential-closure-washington-examiner-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/restaurants-in-downtown-milwaukee-struggle-during-rnc-face-potential-closure-washington-examiner-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurants in downtown Milwaukee struggle during RNC, face potential closure &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frestaurants-in-downtown-milwaukee-struggle-during-rnc-face-potential-closure-washington-examiner-2%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2302378&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u2064 discusses the lackluster business experienced by downtown Milwaukee restaurants during the Republican National Convention. Despite hopes \u200dof an economic boost from hosting a large \u200cevent with nearly 50,000 attendees, some restaurants outside the security perimeter did not \u200bsee the anticipated increase in business. \u200bOwners and managers of these establishments expressed disappointment at the low foot traffic from locals, as many residents were \u2064told to work from home during the convention. Law enforcement officials made up a significant portion of the business at some restaurants, with discounts offered to those in uniform. the article highlights the challenges faced by \u200blocal businesses\u200b during the convention and the impact on their\u2062 operations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Downtown Milwaukee restaurants see lackluster business during RNC: &lsquo;Would have just closed my doors&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1707134\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-national-convention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republican National Convention<\/a> took over downtown <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/milwaukee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Milwaukee<\/a> this past week, restaurants and bars were hopeful of the economic impact hosting a big event could bring to the city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee doesn&rsquo;t host big events like the Super Bowl or other events that showcase the city, so this was set to be a first of its kind as nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/city.milwaukee.gov\/RNC\/FAQ#:~:text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%20more,Can%20I%20buy%20a%20ticket%3F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>50,000 people<\/a> descended on the city. Still, some restaurants just outside the hard security perimeter of the convention didn&rsquo;t see the business they were hoping for.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hindsight is always 20\/20, but knowing what I know now, I would have just closed my doors and let everybody have a vacation,&rdquo; Brent Brashier, owner of <a href=\"https:\/\/docsbbq.net\/pages\/milwaukee-bbq-menu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Doc&rsquo;s Smokehouse<\/a> in Milwaukee, told the<em> Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Brashier said that original maps of the security perimeter did not make it seem like his restaurant would be blocked off, but accessing his restaurant ended up requiring a bag check.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We really tried to make everyone feel welcome, but unfortunately, it&rsquo;s just very difficult to get here,&rdquo; Brashier said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bummer when you see all these people walking up and down the street.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been here for almost eight years, and you know, anecdotally, the people that I talk to, no one&rsquo;s really having a very good week,&rdquo; Brashier said, noting that restaurants within the hard perimeter were having a good week business-wise.<\/p>\n<p>One restaurant down the road,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.majorgoolsbys.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> Major Goolsby&rsquo;s<\/a>, had its own dedicated entrance and exit from the security perimeter.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Secret Service guys were pretty forward with me and said, &lsquo;Hey, you guys represent kind of an odd problem for us.&rsquo; They did leave an exit gate that would have gone from the red restricted zone into our zone,&rdquo; Kirby Wachniak, the general manager of Major Goolsby&rsquo;s, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I absolutely love that Major Goolsby&#8217;s is specifically designated on a Secret Service security map <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DxTffd5DAP\">pic.twitter.com\/DxTffd5DAP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; A.J. Bayatpour (@AJBayatpour) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AJBayatpour\/status\/1804197557272232398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I did it, I went through the Major Goolsby&rsquo;s-specific entrance (and exit). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/x0ZpFsZISl\">pic.twitter.com\/x0ZpFsZISl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dan Shafer (@DanRShafer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanRShafer\/status\/1814013138943066252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Wachniak said his restaurant called some restaurants in Cleveland, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Ohio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ohio<\/a>, the host city for the 2016 RNC, to get a better understanding of how things would go. He said Cleveland restaurants said it was &ldquo;well worth it,&rdquo; for them to stay open. Wachniak asked if visitors could out drink Wisconsinites, or if they drink as much as Wisconsinites do on a Green Bay Packer Sunday, and he was told to &ldquo;lower his expectations a little.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Many Wisconsin bars were given special permission to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3083531\/wisconsin-bars-stay-open-late-during-rnc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>stay open late<\/a> until 4 a.m. during the RNC. Still, foot traffic from local residents seemed to be lacking.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had absolutely zero local customers. Everybody left town,&rdquo; Brashier said, noting many Milwaukee residents who work downtown were told to work from home during the convention.<\/p>\n<p>A local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/food-and-beverage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>coffee<\/a> shop noticed the same lack of regulars.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It feels like all the locals have escaped,&rdquo; said one coffee shop manager who asked not to be named for this story. The manager staffed up for the convention but found the extra shifts were not needed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was definitely prepared for more,&rdquo; the manager said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Milwaukee Public Market (David Sivak\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Vendors at the Milwaukee Public Market, a major draw for tourists that features specialty foods and small restaurants, told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>on Thursday their foot traffic had been down.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty dead,&rdquo; said Autumn North, the manager of On the Bus, a vegan restaurant in the market.<\/p>\n<p>In a sign of new business, the Mississippi delegation hosted a breakfast on the second floor of the market. Otherwise, all three establishments noted that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">law enforcement<\/a> helping out with convention security was a large portion of their business for the week. Brashier said 90% of his business has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-radio-reporter-arrested-for-firebombing-police-cars\/\" title=\"Public Radio \u201cReporter\u201d Arrested For Firebombing Police Cars\">law enforcement officials<\/a>, giving thanks to the Greensboro Police, Tennessee State Police, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Secret-Service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Secret Service<\/a> for dining in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Milwaukee Public Market at 6 p.m. this evening. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PRcTAhVtLX\">pic.twitter.com\/PRcTAhVtLX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rachel Seis (@rachelbernhard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rachelbernhard\/status\/1813009586691174577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Major Goolsbey&rsquo;s gives a 50% discount to law enforcement in uniform, so Wachniak said the restaurant had been busy for that reason as well. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had Capitol Police, we&rsquo;ve had D.C., we&rsquo;ve had Homeland Security, we&rsquo;ve had a ton of people from Virginia,&rdquo; Wachniak said. &ldquo;[Law enforcement] started bringing their patches in and stuff and all the servers are collecting them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At Major Goolsby&rsquo;s, the Virginia-based Cornerstone Group booked the restaurant all four nights of the convection, so Wachniak was grateful for that. But at Doc&rsquo;s Smokehouse, a national media company that was set to host events there backed out at the last minute.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They had a contract to buy the whole space for the entire time. You know, we spent months. I met all their requests; I brought extra data in and all this stuff, and then they just canceled,&rdquo; Bashier said. He also told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wuwm.com\/2024-07-16\/a-complete-dud-restaurants-and-businesses-around-fiserv-forum-are-struggling?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Milwaukee&rsquo;s NPR<\/a> that the restaurant set up a beer garden and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/restaurants-in-downtown-milwaukee-struggle-during-rnc-face-potential-closure-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Restaurants in downtown Milwaukee struggle during RNC, face potential closure - Washington Examiner\">printed banners reading &#038;ldquo<\/a>;Welcome GOP.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if they got wind of how difficult it would be to go in and out, pulled out, or whatever,&rdquo; Bashier said. &ldquo;The maps that were released by the host committee aren&rsquo;t accurate to what&rsquo;s actually closed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Still, both Brashier and Wachniak were thrilled with the potential to showcase their city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Anything that&rsquo;s good for the city is typically good for us, and I&rsquo;m still not upset with it,&rdquo; Brashier said when asked if he was looking forward to the event coming to town.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hopefully, maybe some of these people will come back and say, &lsquo;Hey, we really, actually want to see the city and come back and visit us some other time, because Milwaukee is an amazing city,&rsquo;&rdquo; Brashier continued.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In 2020, the Democratic National Convention was supposed to be held in Milwaukee but was mostly moved to a virtual format due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/COVID-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>COVID-19<\/a> pandemic. Brashier joked that business during the RNC was up from that of the virtual DNC in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The bright spot is that we&rsquo;re up on our sales from the 2020 DNC,&rdquo; Brashier said.<\/p>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1707134\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1707134\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Downtown Milwaukee restaurants did not see the expected increase in business during the Republican National Convention. Some restaurants outside the security perimeter did not attract the foot traffic they were hoping for, while those within the perimeter saw a boost in business. Law enforcement officials made up a significant portion of the customers for some restaurants, with one offering a discount to those in uniform. Despite the lackluster business, restaurant owners were still hopeful that the event would showcase their city and potentially attract visitors in the future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3318,"featured_media":2302379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rnc-empty-restuarant.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[35666,35665,4131,6915,4908],"class_list":["post-2302378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-downtown-milwaukee","tag-potential-closure","tag-restaurants","tag-rnc","tag-struggle"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rnc-empty-restuarant.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2302378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2302379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2302378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2302378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2302378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}