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DNC was a boon for some restaurants

Was the Democratic National Convention a boon for restaurants? It depends on whom you ask. The consensus among Center City restaurateurs interviewed Friday was that business was solid but not remarkable, given the 50,000 delegates, media representatives, and other attendees.

Was the Democratic National Convention a boon for restaurants?

It depends on whom you ask. The consensus among Center City restaurateurs interviewed Friday was that business was solid but not remarkable, given the 50,000 delegates, media representatives, and other attendees.

Restaurateurs who booked private parties and caterers at established venues did very well. Coffee shops and other quick-service shops seemed to thrive. More important, they said the city seemed to show itself well to the visitors, which could augur return trips.

Others, such as Rich Landau, who owns the nationally acclaimed sit-down vegan restaurants Vedge and V Street, were less impressed. Given the heat and the fact that locals chose to stay home and watch the convention on television, he likened diner volume to "a four-day Super Bowl, [though] nothing compared to the pope disaster" last year.

Business at Saxbys Coffee's Center City shops were up 15 percent this week, said spokesman Justin Pizzi, with most out-of-towners ordering flavored cold-brew coffee.

The wealth seemed to be shared geographically. Delegates from American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, who bunked at the Courtyard by Marriott in Lansdale, became regulars at Osaka, a Japanese restaurant nearby on Sumneytown Pike, said Jenna Burleigh, a hostess.

"We had a nice little pop here and there with people," said Brian Pieri, who owns Bar Lucca, tucked in a rowhouse block in Conshohocken, near two hotels that hosted journalists and guests. "It was nothing crazy, but a good buzz all week in July was nice."

Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, which hosted delegations from Tennessee, Michigan, and Minnesota, kept pool, bars, and restaurants open late to accommodate the conventioneers and set up a watch party in its Valley Tavern.

"It was a tough piece of business because it was all breakfast and late night, but it was worth it," said Troy Christian, general manager of the Urban Farmer restaurant at the Logan Hotel, home base of the Clinton family.

Stephen Starr, who owns 19 restaurants in the city, said business at Buddakan, Talula's Garden, Parc, Continental Midtown, El Rey, and El Vez was better than average - but only because sponsors had bought them out for one or more days. Organizers pay a premium for this. His other places reported sales similar to past late-July weeks, which he said was mainly because he chose not to extend hours. He called it "a smashing success for the city. I think we carried ourselves well and the people, whether in politics or celebrities, seemed to be impressed."

Teddy Sourias, whose holdings include the neighboring bars U-Bahn and U-Bar on Chestnut Street near 13th, had courted large parties and the bars were booked for three nights. When one organizer learned early Tuesday evening that U-Bahn had special authority to serve alcohol till 4 a.m., he bought out the place for later that evening.

One big winner was McGillin's Olde Ale House on Drury Street in Center City, which hosted MSNBC's Morning Joe show all week, requiring the owners, the Mullins family, to open the doors at 3 a.m. Thursday. That turned into an all-nighter, as MSNBC asked at the last minute to add a show with Chris Matthews at midnight after Hillary Clinton's speech. Right afterward, production began for Friday morning's show. The bar - the oldest in the city - had a buyout Monday afternoon. The rest of the week was a full house, with not only national politicos, such as Vice President Biden, but a government official from Ireland and an English member of Parliament.

Revolution Taco, near Rittenhouse Square, saw more business all week, and management partly attributes that to a promotional product: the DNC Donkey Kick ice cream sandwich, a collaboration with Weckerly's Ice Cream. The first batch sold out almost immediately, sending Weckerly's back to making more.

mklein@philly.com