MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — While we have heard from businesses in the red zone that are seeing a boost in revenue from the RNC, some just outside of the perimeter say they aren’t having the same success.
On Wednesday, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson acknowledged some of the challenges business owners may be feeling outside of the RNC zone, saying the money isn't “necessarily flowing through every corner of the economy.”
Within just a few blocks of each other, Tydus Hayes and Celena Marcy say their businesses have had very different experiences this week.
“I think I'm not going to see lows like this since COVID,” said Hayes, Co-Owner, Pat’s Rib Place.
“We've been slugging through. It's been great this summer,” said Marcy, Catering Director, Smokin’ Jack’s.
Tydus Hayes runs Pat’s Rib Place at Milwaukee Public Market.
For months, Hayes says he tried to come up with plans to handle what he thought would be his busiest week ever.
“Initially, what I thought that I should do is buy a bunch of inventory and have a lot of things on hand, just in case we had a really big influx. Well, I'm kind of glad that I didn't do that,” said Hayes.
VIDEO: Business owners around security perimeter see mixed bag of sales during RNC
Now, he says he is dealing with the exact opposite, plus navigating how to support his staff through the drop in sales.
“It's very tough. It's tough dealing with the staff as far as how they're going to actually get the work and how they're going to arrive on time. And then it's a little disappointing when I have to let people go a little bit earlier,” said Hayes.
Less than a half-mile away at Third Street Market Hall, Smokin’ Jack’s Celena Marcy says business has been buzzing.
“We didn't know what to expect. We've never done an RNC of any type. So, we just kind of went into it with a lot of hope and a lot of positivity, created a couple of new items to attract more people, and we fared pretty well out of it,” said Marcy.
Marcy says her team has already beaten last July’s sales and has really benefited from the out-of-town visitors coming by.
“I just feel a lot of really good came from the whole experience. Maybe not from everyone in the city, because we've all heard it we've all seen it, but I just really think that it's no different than Summerfest,” said Marcy.
Other business owners we spoke to were pretty evenly split, like Hayes and Marcy.
They say they plan to regroup early next week to see just how impactful the convention was for their bottom line.
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