Downtown Cleveland restaurant managers like Chris Yonish at Bar Louie on West 6th Street said they're getting numerous calls from groups wanting to rent party rooms during next weekend's rock hall festivities.
“People are asking if they can book one of our private dining rooms. We’re looking forward to the traffic. It’s going to be a big weekend for us,” Yonish said.
Yonish said he's scheduling extra staff for next weekend.
“We’ll make sure we have all of the staff that we need, so we can give great customer service,” Yonish said.
Todd Mesek is the Vice President of Marketing for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He said their studies show rock week and induction weekend generates 20 million dollars for the local economy.
“And about 25% of the visitors that come into Cleveland for the inductions don’t have a ticket. They just come to the city just to be a part of the glow and to be in the excitement. It’s a huge economic development for Cleveland,” Mesek said.
Mesek says the financial impact will last long after next weekend, because he believes regional and national visitors will be impressed with downtown Cleveland and spread the word.
“Then you add in the media impact with the HBO telecast on May 5th and the international media. It really has a strong ripple effect for a long time. It brings in dollars to Cleveland and so it promotes the city as a positive rock and roll city,” Mesek said.
