The head chef and owner of Milwaukee restaurant Amilinda says the expected boost from the upcoming Republican National Convention isn’t materializing, and even regulars won’t be showing up during convention week. 

Gregory Leon has been running the Spanish-Portuguese restaurant for close to nine years in downtown Milwaukee, about two blocks away from the edge of the security zone for the RNC. In an interview Friday, he said the close proximity to the political event will put a damper on his business. 

“It’s not just me,” he told WisBusiness.com. “It’s a lot of restaurants in the city that have not seen that boost that we were told would happen.” 

Despite expectations, Amilinda hasn’t landed any RNC-related bookings, and Leon says he’s been hearing from regular customers that they’ll be staying away while the convention is underway July 15-18. 

“It’s also just keeping our regulars away,” he said. “A lot of our regulars have told us that they’re not going to be coming downtown that week, which I completely understand. So not only are we not getting a boost, it’s also hindering our normal, you know, traffic.” 

Leon also said “who I am and what I stand for” may not align fully with conservative convention-goers. 

“I’m gay, I’m half-Jewish, I’m half-Latino … we do a lot of work with refugees, and raise money for lots of other causes,” he said, noting a quick Google search of the restaurant would reveal his own progressive viewpoint. “And I’m speculating. I’m not saying everybody who’s coming to the convention would feel that way, but, you know.” 

The restaurant is typically only open for dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, but will be adding hours on the Monday and Tuesday of the convention week as well. Leon says he’s requested permits to be open until at least 2 a.m. on the days the convention takes place. 

“We’re right next to one of the hotels where the press will be staying,” he said, referring to the nearby Marriott. “So we’re hoping, you know, we get some of that business.” 

He argued organizers and tourism officials should be “a little more cautious” in their predictions about the convention’s immediate impact on local businesses, though he added he expects it will benefit the city overall. 

“It’s a good, safe place with great things to do and great cuisine … I’m hoping that this translates to people coming next year for their vacation, or the following year,” he said. “I’m sure the people who are in the red zone, the security zone, are going to do great. I’m sure the businesses in the Pfizer Forum are going to do great. That’s awesome, good for them.” 

But he added “maybe don’t paint it as” something that’s going to be great for everyone involved. 

See more about the restaurant and find more convention coverage at WisPolitics. 

After rescuing two groups of kayakers in the same area within two days, the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office is urging kayakers to avoid part of the Milwaukee River near Manchester Drive in the Town of Grafton.

The sheriff’s office says both groups of kayakers entered the Milwaukee River from Lime Kiln Park in the Village of Grafton and their kayaks overturned in the area of Manchester Drive in the Town of Grafton.

“The kayaks overturned due to rapid water conditions and downed trees in the river causing obstacles that were difficult to navigate. The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office is urging kayakers to avoid using this stretch of the Milwaukee River until water levels subside and water conditions improve,” officials said.

The first rescue occurred Thursday afternoon when the sheriff’s office received a report of two kayakers — a 49-year-old man and his 16-year-old son — in distress on an island in the Milwaukee River, near Heather Court in the Town of Grafton.

They were kayaking down the river when their kayaks overturned. Both were wearing life jackets and were separated from their kayaks.

Late Saturday morning, the office received a report of kayakers in distress on an island near Manchester Drive, a road that connects with Heather Court. That group included a 38-year-old man, a 36-year-old woman and their 2-year-old child.

When their kayaks overturned, the 2-year-old was wearing a life jacket. The adults had life jackets with them but were not wearing them at the time, and the life jackets floated downstream with the kayaks.

In both instances, the kayakers were rescued and brought safely back to shore. Multiple emergency departments responded to the incidents, including the Ozaukee County Drone Team.

One yellow, black and red kayak from the Thursday incident hasn’t been found yet. If you locate it, the sheriff’s office asks that you contact them.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, campaigned for President Joe Biden in Milwaukee this weekend as part of a blitz to mobilize voters and, in Moore’s case, to boost enthusiasm for the president in the Black community.

Moore’s arrival came with a fresh challenge: addressing Biden’s shaky Thursday night debate performance that sent shockwaves through the party.

Biden stumbled over his words during the event and at times gave meandering answers, leading some Democrats to call for Biden to be replaced at the top of the ticket. 

Moore said that though Biden didn’t have a great night during the debate, his support for the president “has not waned one bit.”

“I know that this is not about a debate performance. It’s about a presidential performance,” Moore said.

Moore seized on a moment in the debate when former President Donald Trump, when speaking about illegal immigration into the country, commented, “They’re taking Black jobs now and they’re taking Hispanic jobs.”

Moore criticized Trump’s comments Saturday, arguing it provided a clear contrast for voters between Biden and Trump. Moore contended Biden’s administration has decreased the racial wealth gap by 60%, created more Black homeownership, created new pathways for entrepreneurship, and offered support for Black-owned businesses.

More: Was the fastest growth of Black-owned small businesses in 30 years under Biden?

“That’s the kind of economic support that the president is focusing on, and Donald Trump is talking about ‘Black jobs,’” Moore said. “This is a difference in the value system that these two people have.”

Moore’s visit to Wisconsin included a ’90s R&B cookout sponsored by the Black Coalition on Saturday at Milwaukee’s Carver Park. He also attended a Black men’s health roundtable in Madison and an office opening in Madison for the 48th Democratic field office in the state, alongside Gov. Tony Evers and party Chairman Ben Wikler.

Moore touted the Biden campaign’s Black Voters for Biden campaign that launched at the end of May to spotlight the administration’s efforts on behalf of underserved communities, specifically the allocation of $83 million to replace and repair contaminated lead pipes and reinvestment in infrastructure projects across the state.

The Black Voters for Biden leaders contrast the economic investments by Biden with projects like an unfulfilled Foxconn development deal that was negotiated during Trump’s presidency.

“The lack of consistency we heard from the other side, the lack of honesty that we heard from the other side, the lack of vision that we heard from the other side. That should give everyone pause,” Moore said.

Enthusiasm for Biden’s re-election in the Black community, a key constituency that helped lift him to the presidency in 2020, has become a big concern for Biden’s re-election campaign. Grassroots organizers in Milwaukee have cited hurdles in generating an energized turnout this year.

Republicans, who are staging their national convention in Milwaukee, next month, say they see an opportunity to spread a message that can resonate with Black voters in Milwaukee.

In 2020, the state GOP opened an office in the Harambee neighborhood, on the corner of East North Avenue and North King Drive, to boost outreach to Black voters in Milwaukee.

State GOP party chair Brian Schimming has told the Journal Sentinel polling shows Republicans could have a shot at winning over some Black voters.

Since 2020, the Democratic party has told voters that Joe Biden is the only candidate capable of beating former President Trump based on the president’s decades of public service experience and record voter turnout during the pandemic.

But, there is still work to be done to secure Wisconsin, a state where activist group Listen to Wisconsin rallied over 49,000 voters to cast an “uninstructed” ballot in April protesting the Biden administration’s military support of Israel.

Despite brewing discontentment with the president, Democrats like Moore hope voters set aside their frustrations to invest in the future of the party.

“Regardless of where you are on any one of these issues, we actually have a president who’s going to hear us and who’s going to incorporate that all that into the decision making,” Moore said. “I think if you look at, you know, the alternative, this is a binary choice.”