The Democratic National Convention’s grand finale was Thursday night. But instead of tens of thousands of people watching the president in Bank of America Stadium, a much smaller crowd packed into Time Warner Cable Arena. That left many people spilling into theaters, bars and the streets to see the president’s speech on TV.
Outside the arena, it seemed like just about everyone had a ticket that wasn’t any good to the president’s speech.
The Democratic National Convention was promised to be a boon for local businesses. This week convention goers have been spending money in local restaurants and stores. But some businesses have made out a lot better than others.
Harvest Moon Grille specializes in local food, but their clientele this week is mostly from far away. CBS Anchor Bob Schieffer is eating lunch here. The restaurant's chef and co-owner Cassie Parsons points to another table.
"He read about us in the London Times and he wanted to check us out," she says.
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan stopped by our table on Radio Row at Time Warner Cable Arena. She spoke to Charlotte Talks host Mike Collins about the impression Charlotte has left with visitors to the Democratic National Convention.
She says Charlotte is a hit.
“It’s the people that are here, not even the delegates, a lot of from all over the country who have told me over and over again about the hospitality they see on the street from the people who live and work in Uptown Charlotte.
LaTisha Allen, 29, is a bartender who lives in Matthews. She is talking on the phone with her manager at Kalu Asian Kitchen, a block away from Time-Warner Cable Arena, to see how she can get through security to get to work.
Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Charlotte this week. Beth Henry is one of them. She's not your typical protester. A retired corporate lawyer and mother of two grown children, Henry has now taken up climate change as her cause. WFAE's Briana Duggan talked to her among the chanting.
The DNC has been a test of the Charlotte police department's abilities. But it's also been a lucrative opportunity to score some expensive equipment that will stick around long after the delegates and protesters are gone.
There's all kind of debate about whether the DNC be any real boost to Charlotte's image or economy after it ends.
But one DNC benefit that's here to stay was on display earlier this week when a large group of protesters blocked an intersection. Police used the department's brand new portable PA system to communicate with the crowd.
Activists looking to be heard during the DNC have criticized the city's "free speech zone" as a waste. It's a microphone in an empty lot at the edge of Uptown. Who would bother competing with noisy traffic and helicopters to be heard in an empty field? Only twelve people, so far.
Steve Widdows liked being at the microphone enough that he came back for a second go the next day.
He stoops over the microphone, head bent so that it's hard to tell if his eyes are open.
