Milwaukee, WI
Outside the RNC, small Milwaukee businesses and their regulars tried to salvage a sluggish week
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jay Nelson was standing outside the convenience store he manages in downtown Milwaukee when one of his regular customers walked by on her daily stroll around the neighborhood.
“I’ve been telling people to come and buy even just a bottle of wine,” she said, stretching out her arms. “I hope it helps.”
Pulling her in for a hug, Nelson said they needed all the help they could get.
The store he has managed for nearly a decade, Downtown Market & Smoke Shop, was among the many businesses sealed off by tall metal fencing for the 2024 Republican National Convention, a sprawling footprint that shut down portions of the city’s downtown for more than a week.
For small businesses like Downtown Market, the RNC didn’t deliver a decisive victory, instead hindering sales despite earlier promises that it would bring an economic boost.
“I want you to take all your money to Milwaukee, spend it that week, and leave it in Milwaukee,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said two years ago at the RNC’s summer meeting where it was announced that the city would host the GOP’s national convention.
But Samir Saddique, owner of Downtown Market and the neighboring Avenue Liquor, said the convention brought “a lot of nothing.” Traffic and sales took a nose dive soon after the fencing went up in front of the stores. By Thursday, the RNC’s final day, the liquor store had made just 10% of its usual sales, he said.
“We’re barricaded away from the rest of the world,” Saddique said.
Claire Koenig, a spokesperson for Visit Milwaukee, which promotes the city as a tourism destination, said economic impact reports will likely take three months to compile.
Across the Milwaukee River, which marked the eastern edge of the RNC secure zone, just one seat was taken at the bar inside Elwood’s Liquor & Tap during their Wednesday happy hour, which is usually a reliably busy night for the red-booth bar near Fiserv Forum where the convention’s main stage was housed.
“Everybody was promised that this was going to be a giant moneymaker for businesses,” bar manager Sam Chung, 30, said. “So it’s strange seeing how much it’s actually killed business for a lot of people outside the perimeter.”
Even their most loyal customers hadn’t stopped by this week, Chung said.
“They don’t even want to come down here because it’s obviously a mess to get here,” she said, adding that she thought “a big part of it is that a lot of our regulars are Democrats.”
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Milwaukee is the deepest blue city in Wisconsin, a key swing state.
Adam Buker, a 21-year-old barista at a coffee shop near one of the convention’s exits, which leads attendees onto a wide-open street, said that all week he had been playing music by queer artists as his own protest.
Yet the door kept swinging open at Canary Coffee Bar.
“It 100% has to do with our location,” Buker said Thursday as he packed espresso grounds for a cortado, with a Frank Ocean track playing in the background.
Though it was outside the secure zone, the cafe’s glass storefront and buttery yellow sidewalk seating weren’t obstructed by the fencing like Saddique’s liquor and convenience stores were. RNC attendees also didn’t have to cross the river to get to the coffee shop, unlike Elwood’s.
After closing this week, Buker said he had been spending his cash tips at some of the struggling bars around the convention’s perimeter.
“From one service worker to another,” he said. “Spread the love.”
As Buker’s final shift during RNC week was coming to an end Thursday evening, a last-minute party outside Saddique’s convenience store was just underway. Saddique and Nelson, the manager, hoped catered tacos and ice-cold green tea flowing from orange coolers would bring customers into the stores that have been open for 20-plus years, surviving a recession and a global pandemic.
Debra Lampe-Revolinski, who has lived in the building adjacent to Saddique’s businesses for 15 of those years, said she pitched the idea for the party earlier in the week, when she realized the expected boost in business would not materialize for her friends.
She knew Saddique and Nelson went to great lengths preparing for the RNC, having seen them hard at work for weeks while they remodeled parts of the stores, she said.
“And then there was just this deflation because the stores were blocked out by those tall metal fences,” she said. “It was so uninviting.”
By the time Trump took center stage Thursday to formally accept the GOP nomination, Lampe-Revolinski said the party, originally aimed at bringing in business, instead had turned into a celebration of surviving the week.
“If anything, this week strengthened our little community on this block to support its local businesses,” she said.
___
Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed from Madison, Wisconsin.
Thanks to generous viewers, TMJ4’s Home 4 the Holidays Virtual Food Drive raised more than $29,000 for Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force — money that will help get food on tables this holiday season.
The donations came as the Hunger Task Force reports a 35% increase in traffic at local pantry networks over the past year.
The fundraising effort marks the 10th year that Raymond James, TMJ4, and Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force have partnered for the Home 4 the Holidays virtual food drive. The online platform allows people to purchase an assortment of holiday food choices from the comfort of their own home or office.
Gary Sievewright from Raymond James explained why the company continues its annual participation.
Watch: Community raises over $29,000 during Home 4 the Holidays virtual food drive
Community raises over $29,000 during Home 4 the Holidays virtual food drive
“It’s part of our culture to be involved in the community, and we just love the need to help people that really have a need for food, right? So this is a passion of ours, it’s a passion of yours. We love the partnership, and we’re happy to raise as much money as we can every year,” Sievewright said.
People can continue making donations by visiting HungerTaskForce.org to help feed families in need this holiday season.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Milwaukee New Year’s Eve Free Rides
In partnership with Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS), the Miller Lite Free Rides program returns to Milwaukee as people ring in the new year.
MILWAUKEE – In partnership with Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS), the Miller Lite Free Rides program returns to Milwaukee as people ring in the new year.
The program got its start in 1988 and provides residents with free transportation to celebrate the new year responsibly.
This year’s program is especially meaningful as Miller Lite celebrates its 50th anniversary and the Free Rides program approaches 10 million rides provided nationwide.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Visit the MCTS website to find the most popular routes. You can also download the UMO app to plan and track your bus in real-time.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by Molson Coors Beverage Company.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee woman claims predatory towing left her with hundreds in fees after apartment complex confusion
MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee woman says she has been without her car for almost a week after what she claims was an unfair towing incident from an apartment complex, leaving her with a $400 bill.
“It’s been pretty terrible,” Pappalardo said.
Brendyn Jones/TMJ4
Ashley Pappalardo’s car was towed from the Parkview Apartment lot near Silver Spring and Highway 100 on Thursday morning. Her sister was driving the vehicle at the time and says there was confusion about where to park due to different property ownership.
According to Department of Revenue records, the building had just been sold to new ownership that same day. A sign posted near the entrance warns that non-residents will be towed.
Watch: Milwaukee woman claims predatory towing left her with hundreds in fees
Milwaukee woman claims predatory towing left her with hundreds in fees after apartment complex confusion
Pappalardo said that during conversations with the new management, they told her the towing shouldn’t have happened.
“She says we called and put any operations from them on hold until we can review a contract,” Pappalardo said. “I asked, ‘So they didn’t have any right to be on the property?’ She said no.”
Pappalardo says Brew City Towing and Recovery, which towed the vehicle, also confirmed to her that operations had been put on hold.
TMJ4 reporter Brendyn Jones attempted to speak to the property manager to clear up the confusion, but received no answer.
A sign indicated the office was closed because of new ownership. When Jones called the posted number and spoke with an Appleton Rental Homes representative, she declined to answer whether there was an active contract with Brew City and denied an interview request, saying Pappalardo should pay the fine.
At Brew City Towing, a worker instructed TMJ4 to call the office, but the voicemail box was full. Jones reached out to Brew City over the phone and by text, but received no answer from the people who have the car.
Pappalardo went to the police, who she said told her a small claims report might be her next step.
“Anyone who’s been in that civil lawsuit process understands it’s an incredibly long and grueling process for very little outcome,” Pappalardo said.
For now, she’s out of luck, hoping Brew City compromises.
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Hey there! At TMJ4 News, we’re all about listening to our audience and tackling the stuff that really matters to you. Got a story idea, tip, or just want to chat about this piece? Hit us up using the form below. For more ways to get in touch, head over to tmj4.com/tips.
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