Though the upcoming NATO summit will have a purported $128 million economic impact on Chicago, it looks like a sales bust for the city's biggest restaurants.
City hotels are expected to pick up the bulk of revenue from the May 20 event, restaurateurs predict. For their own businesses, dining proprietors expect the event to be more for show than an actual moneymaker.
“I was hoping it would be more business rather than less,” says Glenn Keefer, who owns the River North steakhouse Keefer's and is a silent partner with Tavern on the Park. “We have no reservations Monday the 21st and very few from Saturday the 19th,” he said, following a security briefing at the Illinois Restaurant Association this morning.
He is concerned about talk that area companies will close down or allow workers to work remotely for safety. “Our business relies on people going to work,” he said.
Tavern on the Park, which sits on the north end of Millennium Park, will be open for business as usual on Saturday and Monday, though the Prudential Building will be closed, said Tavern Manager Jesse Bivens. The restaurant has installed Plexiglas over the windows, according to Mr. Keefer.
With NATO in town, “It's security, security, security,” says Matt Moore, co-owner of Chicago Cut Steakhouse on the north side of the Chicago River. “I can only see a downside.”
To be sure, it's difficult to know what to expect as city officials make the rounds giving security briefings to residents and businesses. While the summit will be at McCormick Place, business owners and residents are concerned about maps outlining a Red Zone that borders State, Adams, Franklin and Harrison Streets. A larger zone that runs from Wacker Drive to the Lake down to the Museum Campus also has people worried about the potential impact.
Scott Harris, owner of Francesca Restaurant Group, expects businesses on the south end of town to be potentially shut down, with those on the north end less affected. For restaurants in the Red Zone, “forget it,” he said.
Like other restaurateurs, he expects more business from the National Restaurant Show that begins this weekend. “I don't think NATO is going to add much. The food show will make us crazy,” he says.
Healey and others have long been saying the summit will be a boon for the city, both in term of revenues and prestige, with visits by dozens of foreign leaders, thousands of NATO delegates and staffers and scores of foreign journalists.
Today, for example, Healey said a World Business Chicago study found that more than 18,300 attendees and staff will add up to more than 44,000 hotel nights and the summit will result in 2,200 temporary jobs.
Healey said the study released today takes into security costs into account although it does not an estimate of those costs. Liz Jellema, research director for World Business Chicago, said security costs "are confidential," but they are part of the overall $128 million estimate.
Healey also dismissed any suggestion that the figures were optimistic, saying the $128 million estimate is "truly, truly conservative," in part because the federal government has not disclosed how much money it will spend in Chicago for the summit.
Healey also addressed recent media reports that as early as this week, federal agents, some in battle gear, will be seen patrolling Chicago streets. She said there would be no visible sign of increased federal law enforcement presence until just before the May 20-21 summit.
Healey also said that U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, will throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field before the Chicago Cubs play the Chicago White Sox on May 19.
City hotels are expected to pick up the bulk of revenue from the May 20 event, restaurateurs predict. For their own businesses, dining proprietors expect the event to be more for show than an actual moneymaker.
“I was hoping it would be more business rather than less,” says Glenn Keefer, who owns the River North steakhouse Keefer's and is a silent partner with Tavern on the Park. “We have no reservations Monday the 21st and very few from Saturday the 19th,” he said, following a security briefing at the Illinois Restaurant Association this morning.
He is concerned about talk that area companies will close down or allow workers to work remotely for safety. “Our business relies on people going to work,” he said.
Tavern on the Park, which sits on the north end of Millennium Park, will be open for business as usual on Saturday and Monday, though the Prudential Building will be closed, said Tavern Manager Jesse Bivens. The restaurant has installed Plexiglas over the windows, according to Mr. Keefer.
With NATO in town, “It's security, security, security,” says Matt Moore, co-owner of Chicago Cut Steakhouse on the north side of the Chicago River. “I can only see a downside.”
To be sure, it's difficult to know what to expect as city officials make the rounds giving security briefings to residents and businesses. While the summit will be at McCormick Place, business owners and residents are concerned about maps outlining a Red Zone that borders State, Adams, Franklin and Harrison Streets. A larger zone that runs from Wacker Drive to the Lake down to the Museum Campus also has people worried about the potential impact.
Scott Harris, owner of Francesca Restaurant Group, expects businesses on the south end of town to be potentially shut down, with those on the north end less affected. For restaurants in the Red Zone, “forget it,” he said.
Like other restaurateurs, he expects more business from the National Restaurant Show that begins this weekend. “I don't think NATO is going to add much. The food show will make us crazy,” he says.
Healey and others have long been saying the summit will be a boon for the city, both in term of revenues and prestige, with visits by dozens of foreign leaders, thousands of NATO delegates and staffers and scores of foreign journalists.
Today, for example, Healey said a World Business Chicago study found that more than 18,300 attendees and staff will add up to more than 44,000 hotel nights and the summit will result in 2,200 temporary jobs.
Healey said the study released today takes into security costs into account although it does not an estimate of those costs. Liz Jellema, research director for World Business Chicago, said security costs "are confidential," but they are part of the overall $128 million estimate.
Healey also dismissed any suggestion that the figures were optimistic, saying the $128 million estimate is "truly, truly conservative," in part because the federal government has not disclosed how much money it will spend in Chicago for the summit.
Healey also addressed recent media reports that as early as this week, federal agents, some in battle gear, will be seen patrolling Chicago streets. She said there would be no visible sign of increased federal law enforcement presence until just before the May 20-21 summit.
Healey also said that U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, will throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field before the Chicago Cubs play the Chicago White Sox on May 19.
No comments:
Post a Comment