While the
2024 RNC brings the promise – and hype – of big money for the local economy, the nature of a major political convention also presents a unique set of planning and operational challenges for some businesses looking to cash in.
It’s been a bit of a waiting game for West Allis-based caterer
Brazen Standard Hospitality, which so far – as of press time – has six large-scale events under contract for the week of the convention, in addition to some parties the weekend leading up to it. But only less than a month out from the July 15-18 event, the company still has another six events stuck in the proposal phase, according to chief executive officer and owner
Dan Nowak.
The hope is to get those pending contracts locked in soon because, based on Brazen Standard’s current book of RNC business, the catering company has capacity for another six to 10 large-scale events and/or several small-scale events of less than 100 people.
Brazen Standard, which is the umbrella company for
Tall Guy and a Grill, The Crafted Tavern and The Dessert Cart, could get its wish as it expects an influx of last-minute business to come its way in these final weeks leading up to the RNC. That timeline aligns with general sentiment and forewarning Nowak received from some Cleveland business owners about the experience hosting the 2016 RNC: “Be prepared to get inundated with requests four to six weeks out.”
Nowak noted there’s been a lot of feet dragging and “tire kicking” by some of the out-of-town groups, such as state delegations and media outlets, in finalizing event bookings – not only with his company, but also with other caterers and venue operators he’s talked to recently.
For example, Brazen Standard will send out a proposal, the potential client will initially respond with something to the effect of, ‘This looks great, we’ll get back to you,’ and then the caterer won’t hear from the group for weeks.
That’s how things have played out with one potential client – a major news network – who is in talks with Brazen Standard for a large-scale event at a venue near Fiserv Forum’s public plaza. Nowak, who declined to disclose the name of the network or the venue, is confident his business will land that booking, but “until they actually sign our contract, we’re going through all the motions of being ready for it.” That includes obtaining the appropriate clearance to enter the secure perimeter where the venue is located.
Prepping for a slate of RNC events – both contracted and pending – also means wrangling a team of 25-30 full-time and 70-80 part-time employees. Nowak said staff were scheduled for RNC week well in advance, based on the maximum number of events Brazen Standard could theoretically handle in a given day. And management has stayed in constant communication with the team as bookings have come in.
“We’ve got everything charted out behind the scenes because that’s just the nature of what we do in the event industry,” Nowak said. “We’re constantly scheduling staff out a month or two ahead of time because we have to, because we’re doing like six to eight, nine weddings in a weekend, and that’s a lot of trucks, it’s a lot of food, it’s a lot staff that’s moving to and from everywhere.”
Not all of Brazen Standard’s RNC bookings have come in so last minute. The caterer was booked months ago by some local banks and law firms that are convening groups of politicians, elected officials and other dignitaries – mainly for evening cocktail receptions – the week of the convention.
Of course, any business is better than no business, and Nowak is pleased with the RNC-related bookings Brazen Standard has procured so far. Plus, it’s an opportunity to increase brand awareness with local venues as well as local party guests who might be in the market for an event caterer.
However, for a mid-sized metro like Milwaukee, there’s a trade-off for hosting an event like the RNC – one that, for all intents and purposes, is large enough to take over much of the city for a week in the middle of summer. The tradeoff is all the other events, like weddings and corporate picnics, that would have otherwise been booked around that time.
“I think wedding business is probably about a third of what it normally is for us, just because people just weren’t booking downtown,” said Nowak. “All the venues were setting aside their space for the RNC and people naturally, when they were planning their weddings and events, probably stayed away from those two weekends.”
