MILWAUKEE — Many companies with offices in downtown Milwaukee are allowing their employees to work from home this week because of the Republican National Convention.

However, some workers and jobs in the heart of the city are imperative to helping the thousands of visitors have a memorable experience in the city, including the ones in the hospitality industry.

Gino Fazzari is the executive chef and owner of Calderone Club and San Giorgio Pizzeria, which are next door to each other.

Calderone Club was open for lunch on the first day of the RNC for the first time since the pandemic. 

Fazzari said he’s thankful his team has been able to navigate traffic and road closures downtown to cater to convention visitors.

“You know, you never know what to expect and the energy is amazing, people everywhere. It was a little difficult to get to work this morning, I have to admit, but we navigated,” Fazzari said.

After the first day of the convention, he said he’s already thinking of shifting schedules, so his employees aren’t working 24 hours a day. He said he’s getting more of an interest in evening reservations among RNC visitors, rather than lunch.

“We are getting a lot of phone calls recently, even as recent as today, requesting service at different hours, later than we anticipated,” Fazzari said. “This is just an example of how you have to pivot and adjust to whatever the needs are.”

Just a few blocks south, Johnny Vassallo was preparing his restaurants, Mo’s A Place for Steaks and Mo’s Irish Pub. Both are completely booked for the convention.

Part of Vassallo’s pre-planning included making sure workers have parking. 

“We were able to find parking for any employees that wanted it, so I’m fairly confident that our employees are all set,” Vassallo said.

“I think their biggest concern is how they’re going to get in and out of the zones, so we’ve just said please allow for an extra hour to get in, it’s not that hard to get out but just really be conscious of how much longer it might take to get in,” he added.