All too quiet on West 7th Street

Many St. Paul businesses along West 7th Street are disappointed by the drop-off in business they’ve experienced during the Republican National Convention.

And the letdown in sales during the week of the RNC hasn’t been for lack of trying.

The Glockenspiel restaurant, 605 W. 7th St., is adorned with a banner on its facade that says “WELCOME CONVENTIONEERS.”

Another sign advertises breakfast at 8 a.m. for the week of the RNC. Glockenspiel manager Rusty Hill says the breakfast was a one-time feature for the restaurant that was intended to draw RNC visitors. He staffed the breakfast with a bartender and server in addition to other staff.

But despite a decent amount of Teutonic cuisine and brau served on Labor Day, business has ground to a halt, Hill says.

Conventioneers haven’t ventured out beyond the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. Local customers are staying home while police engage in occasional violent clashes with protesters. This morning, he was staffing the restaurant himself without the services of the bartender and server.

“Everybody on West 7th Street has been hurting this week. I’ll be glad to see (the RNC) leave,” Hill says.

Dick Holtz, the owner of the Velvet Chair barber shop, 544 W. 7th St., said he spent his day off Saturday touching up the trim of his shop with white paint. He hoped the convention would bring new customers to his shop. But the RNC delegates haven’t made it that far down West 7th Street. And his usual customers probably won’t return to the shop until next week.

“I thought there would be people looking at shops and buying things from owners. I was blown away. There’s no business,” Holtz says.

Even Cossetta’s Italian Market & Pizzeria, 211 W. 7th St., in the shadow of the X, hasn’t experienced the hoped-for business boom. Cossetta’s put a tent for customers in its parking lot. But Greg Fischer, assistant store manager, says the delegates are often bused from the X out of downtown, forsaking the chance to peruse the local establishments.

“We took a chance hoping for the best. The people are here; they’re just not stopping in,” Fischer says.