With so many people coming into Milwaukee and opening their wallets during the 2024 Republican National Convention, there was an expectation for a $200 million dollar economic boost to the city. But while some businesses made out, others fell flat.

Some restaurants were booming.

“From the minute we opened our doors yesterday all the way through, we have been slammed busy, we have been packed full,” said Marla Poytinger of The New Fashioned.

Located right across from the Fiserv Forum, the increase in traffic from the RNC for the bar and restaurant has more than exceeded expectations.

“We actually just opened in April, so we are pretty new here to the Deer District, but we are rocking and rolling this week,” Poytinger said. “We told our team to expect about the equivalent of one Bucks game everyday this week – which would have been fantastic for four days in a row – yesterday alone, we did five Bucks games.”

Marla Poytinger discusses the amoutn of business at The New Fashioned during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “From the minute we opened our doors yesterday all the way through, we have been slammed busy, we have been packed full,” Poytinger said. (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)

But for other businesses, particularly bars and restaurants outside of the security perimeter and further from the convention activity – business has been significantly different and disappointing.

“So, we’ve been hearing people haven’t been coming down because restaurants are not getting enough business,” said Milwaukee restaurant patron Anita Marx.

“It seems like there are so many events going on – we’re also kind of on the outskirts of where everything is taking place, so it seems like people are kind of forgetting the little local spots,” Anne Marie Cieri, owner of Flourchild Pizza said. “We had extra staff on standby but we’ve actually called off a few people because numbers have not been what we expected.”

In the months preceding the convention, there was a lot of talk and excitement about a substantial financial bump coming from the infusion of 50,000 convention attendees.

Anne Marie Cieri, owner of Flourchild Pizza, talks about staffing at the restaurant during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “We had extra staff on standby, but we’ve actually called off a few people because numbers have not been what we expected,” Cieri said. (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)

“I think, originally, the thought was that it would be $200 million in economic impact,” said Omar Shaikh, owner of the high-end steakhouse Carnevor. Business at his restaurant has been slower than he’d like.

“Yesterday we were — decent. Not crazy by any means, not overly busy,” he added.

Normally, Shaikh said, conventions that come to town for company meetings and trainings are busy. But the RNC isn’t a normal convention.

“There aren’t restricted areas and security and things of this nature,” he said. “So, I’d say that political conventions are certainly different.”

Omar Shaikh, owner of Carnevor, discusses what the Republican National Convention meant for his Milwaukee restaurant. “I think, originally, the thought was that it would be $200 million in economic impact,” Shaikh said. (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)

Shaikh also said he talked to some restaurant owners who decided to not open at all during the week of the convention.

“They said, look, I don’t really have a lot of reservations on the books, so I don’t have business if I order a lot of the product, and it’s perishable, right? And then they don’t do business, then they actually lose money,” he said.

One person keeping a close eye on the economic impact of the RNC is Dale Kooyenga. He’s the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and a Republican former state legislator.

“The Milwaukee brand is known. It’s things like this – like the Bucks, the Brewers, events like this, where you could go around the world and people say, ‘Oh, I know Milwaukee, Wisconsin,’” Kooyenga said.

Dale Kooyenga, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, talks about visitors to the city during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “You can’t just look at your four days – you have to look at the longer impact of tourism in Milwaukee,” Kooyenga said. (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)

“You can’t just look at your four days – you have to look at the longer impact of tourism in Milwaukee,” he continued.

For Shaikh at Carnevor steakhouse, he may have wanted more of an economic impact from the RNC for restaurants like his, but also understands it’s a long game.

“The greater hope is that everyone that came here from around the world, from the country to say, ‘This is an incredible city. I want to return to that city, I want to go back to that restaurant, I want to go back and stay in that hotel,'” he said. “And then, hopefully, a lot of people and a lot of organizations will see how great of a city it is that they’ll book large-scale conventions here with us.”