At the Chicago Oyster House near McCormick Place, reservations for the week of Aug. 19 are light compared with a typical summer week.
Owner Rick Cheng speculated that diners might be trying to avoid the area during the Democratic National Convention. The Oyster House, at 1933 S. Indiana Ave., is located within the security perimeter outside of McCormick Place.
As for relying on conventiongoers for business, Cheng said, “I don’t know how that’s going to turn out.” Because of the uncertainty, he said, it’s hard to predict how to staff the restaurant.
Cheng said that typically people booking private parties during other large conventions book reservations months in advance. For the DNC, during which Chicago expects 50,000 visitors to descend upon the city, Cheng said, “We got nada.”
In interviews with the Tribune, representatives of the city’s hospitality industry said they are hopeful, but not convinced, that the convention will be good for business.
Owners of restaurants and bars near the United Center and McCormick Place said they are not sure how security measures in place around both sites would affect business.
A pedestrian-only security zone around the United Center stretches from approximately Washington Boulevard on the north and Seeley Avenue on the west to Adams Street on the south, with the easternmost part of the border ending between Wood and Paulina streets.
Credentials are required within the pedestrian zone. Vehicles can enter a larger outer perimeter outside the United Center after going through security screening. That means, for instance, that employees or customers who might drive their vehicles into the yellow vehicle screening zone will need to have their cars screened and show ID. Employees who need to enter the red pedestrian security zone will need to have credentials, according to the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
Similar restrictions are in place in the area outside McCormick Place.
Michael Salvatore, the owner of Froth, a coffee shop, and Bunker, a bar — both located outside the perimeter in a West Loop apartment building near the United Center — anticipates a busy week and said he had hired a few new staff members in preparation for the convention.
Salvatore plans to capitalize on the energy behind the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, by offering coconut-themed drinks at both the coffee shop and bar. Harris’ phrase, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” which the vice president has explained her mother used to say about ignoring historical context, has become highly memed since she became the presumptive nominee. Froth will offer an espresso shot mixed with coconut milk and topped off with sparkling water, and a frozen play on a piña colada will be on tap at Bunker, Salvatore said.
It’s going to be “all hands on deck,” Salvatore said. Still, there’s uncertainty, he said — between anticipated traffic and protests and the possibility the area could simply end up being a dead zone.
Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said Milwaukee restaurants had not gotten as big of a boost as they’d hoped for during the Republican National Convention last month.
But Toia said he is hopeful that restaurants here would see a surge of business after the convention lets out after 10 p.m. each night, particularly in the Gold Coast, River North and West Loop.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” he said, adding that he thought what he described as the “really good energy” tied to Harris’ presumptive nomination would translate to more wining-and-dining during the convention.
Toia hoped the city might consider allowing sidewalk cafes and patios to stay open later than 11 p.m. or midnight, respectively, if that late-night influx of business does materialize.
The city’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department said it began reaching out to businesses about the convention in April in conjunction with the Secret Service and Chicago police. The department said it had reached out to nearly 1,400 businesses near the United Center and McCormick Place through in-person canvassing. The department will hold a town hall Wednesday to allow the owners and operators of businesses within the security perimeter to ask questions about the DNC.
Cobra Lounge, a music venue and bar located near the United Center but outside the security perimeter, will be putting on “free punk rock shows for that whole week,” general manager Louie Mendicino said.
“Kind of our little middle finger to the whole establishment,” Mendicino said, adding: “We’re sick of the divisive nature of Democrats vs. Republicans, we’re sick of it being the constant news cycle and we’re sick of having poor candidates.”
However, the lounge is happy to have anyone from the convention that respects the neighborhood and wants to come in for a drink, he said.
“Hopefully, we meet some new people, but for the most part, it’s business as usual for us,” he said.