It will be months for before the true calculative economic impact of the Republican National Convention on the Tampa Bay area is known, but some downtown Tampa owners already know the impact on them: grand old disappointment.
Hotels and catering companies were an obvious boon with the RNC crowd, but many business owners, such as restaurateurs just blocks from the main RNC stage, weren't holding back with their view of a RNC letdown as they push the 800 pound elephant right out of the room.
"It's an absolute delight that it's gone," Metro Restaurant and Lounge owner Bill Nelligar said. "We hired extra staff, we extended our hours -- and it was all for nothing." Over at Paninioteca, the preparations were the same, according to Mary Khabbaz. "We bought a lot of extra alcohol, a lot of extra food."
In all the economic hype, the reality of low downtown foot traffic translated to low business for many owners who decided to stick it out the entire convention week hoping to reel in the big bucks from the big crowd.
Those downtown Tampa business owners who closed their doors and went fishing for actual fish instead of patrons may have seen an economic bust coming with the Republican National Convention. "Local businesses closed for the week, so we didn't see any business from them. People downtown couldn't maneuver around the road closures," Khabbaz said. "So, if anything, we lost out big time."
As Tropical Storm Isaac loomed the Friday before the convention, Nelligar said there were 175 cancellations at his restaurant. The week of the convention, Nelligar said there were lots of empty seats and lots of wasted food. The owners and others were left feeling as though the RNC was just a big to-do that was nothing more than Really N Convenient.
"I think that the businesses did what we were asked to do -- we prepared for it," he said, "and I think we were misguided as to what the impact would be."
Even businesses that geared themselves specifically to delegates shared some disappointment. "Sales were OK, but my boss was saying that if we had the choice, we wouldn't do it again," Sean Lowe, with Encore Select, a company that sells sports collectibles and various memorabilia, said.