Business & Tech

Downtown Restaurants Don't See Increase in Business

An expected boon to downtown Tampa businesses because of the RNC is a bust, restaurateurs said Tuesday.

It was supposed to be like a Super Bowl shot in the arm for downtown Tampa restaurants who expected throngs of eaters during the four-day Republican National Convention.

The city made much ado about preparation for the event pouring money into landscaping and road repairs.

But it was a virtual ghost town Tuesday during what would be the start of the busy lunchtime rush.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Lynn Pham just hopes to break even this week.

“I just don’t see it,” she said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Pham, owner of Bamboozle Cafe on Tampa Street, ordered extra food for the week. She kept on additional help and even was open on Sunday for the crowds she anticipated.

But no one came.

Sure there was Tropical Storm Isaac but the storm passed far from Tampa, Pham said.

Between the storm and the convention she can not even count on her regulars who are staying away from downtown.

“It’s a double whammy,” Pham said.

Pham sat in a mostly vacant restaurant Tuesday during what should have been the Vietnamese restaurant’s busy part of the day. Already Pham let go of half the staff for the day. She said most of the food made Monday had to be thrown away at the end of the day.

Pham, who lives in Seminole Heights, said she also is getting things in order to open Bamboozle Tea Lounge in Channelside in about a month. The setback this week will not deter that opening, but it does not help.

“It’s actually hurting me more than the summer months,” Pham said.

Paninoteca Cafe owner Mary Coseski, sat at a table outside the restaurant with her husband Joe and immigration lawyer Neil Lewis.

while Joe smoked shisha from a hookah along Franklin Street Tuesday.

Asked about the influx of potential patrons because of the convention, Coseski, of South Tampa, pointed to the inside of her empty restaurant.

“I don’t know what to expect,” Coseski said. “This whole week has been kind of off.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Seminole Heights