The Riverside Theater’s marquee is being updated daily with pro-Milwaukee messaging during RNC
The Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave., located between many of downtown Milwaukee’s hotels and the Baird Center, is using its proximity to the Republican National Convention to tout some of the city’s celebrated attractions.
Pabst Theater Group Chief Executive Officer Gary Witt said the purpose of the marquee’s messaging this week is to explain there’s much more to tMilwaukee than what convention-goers are seeing inside the RNC’s security perimeter.
The historic theater has updated its flashing marquee with a new message each morning of the convention, beginning July 15.
On Monday, the sign highlighted some of the multinational corporations headquartered in the city, including Milwaukee Tool, Fiserv, Northwestern Mutual, Harley-Davidson and more.
Tuesday’s message lifted Milwaukee’s celebrated dining scene during a week when many restaurants have reported disappointing business and bookings.
“Milwaukee has 200 locally owned restaurants downtown and 17 James Beard recognized chefs,” the marquee read.
Witt said it’s important to draw attention to small businesses this week, especially the hospitality industry, which he considers to work in tandem with the live entertainment industry. Pabst Theater Group’s venues The Riverside Theater, the Pabst Theater, the Vivarium and the Fitzgerald have no bookings during the RNC.
He added he’s been in touch with a few Milwaukee restaurant owners, including some of those James Beard-recognized ones mentioned on The Riverside’s marquee, such as Dan Jacobs, co-owner and chef at DanDan, 360 E. Erie St., and EsterEv, 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Jacobs was recently a finalist on “Top Chef: Wisconsin,” whose season finale aired June 19.
“How does he not have any RNC bookings whatsoever?” Witt said, noting Jacobs’ boost in popularity following his run on the show. “How does Birch have no bookings whatsoever?” he added, referencing the James Beard-nominated farm-to-table restaurant at 459 E. Pleasant St., which the New York Times named one of the best restaurants in the United States in 2023.
Witt also noted that downtown Mediterranean restaurant Lupi & Iris, 777 N. Van Buren St., which was featured on the first episode of “Top Chef: Wisconsin” and is located less than a mile from Fiserv Forum, has seen disappointing business this week, as well.
“The odd thing to me is that you look at Lupi & Iris, one of the finest dining establishments in the city . . . it’s brand new, it’s interesting, it’s centrally located downtown . . . and it has very little business, much less than what they would normally do this time of year,” Witt said.
After initially planning extended hours every day of the RNC, Lupi & Iris announced Tuesday it will be closed on Wednesday.
On a Tuesday social media post depicting the marquee’s message, the Pabst Theater Group encouraged followers to support local restaurants.
“I think part of the benefit of the marquee is that it gets posted online, and we’re asking people to participate and to mention their favorite restaurants and asking them to go out and visit them,” Witt said. “That’s been our goal all along — to do what we can to help the city around us and make the city better — and I hope that it helps.”
But it’s not just about restaurants. Noting that bars, coffee shops, retail and even parking garages have been struggling this week, Witt said that, as a Milwaukee-based business, The Pabst Theater Group’s aim is to support all locally owned businesses in the city.
This week, Witt hopes that even if visitors don’t venture to the places the marquee is highlighting, residents will be reminded to support their favorite Milwaukee locales, like the outdoor spaces alluded to on Wednesday’s marquee: “We’ve got the water, baby! Over 1,400 acres of sandy beaches.”
On Thursday, the final official day of the convention, Witt said The Riverside Theater’s marquee will bear a final message aimed at RNC visitors.
“Milwaukee ... So, not so horrible, huh?”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Riverside’s marquee is featuring pro-Milwaukee messages during RNC
