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Downtown Detroit businesses within blocks of each other have vastly different NFL draft experiences

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2 weeks ago

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As hundreds of thousands of NFL fans converged on downtown Detroit for the draft this past weekend, local businesses had high expectations, anticipating that visitors would be looking for places to shop and eat while they were in town.

Some businesses did see a big boost in sales. Others, though, said it was a disappointment.

Downtown Detroit business owners and heads of business associations did all share one sentiment: The draft was a positive for the city and its reputation.

The NFL draft in Detroit set a record for attendance, with more than 775,000 people inside the draft’s downtown Detroit footprint from Thursday through Saturday, officials said. Before the draft began, officials projected that the NFL draft would generate between $175 million to $200 million in economic growth in Detroit, an estimate officials now expect to surpass.

“I think it was great for the city of Detroit,” Tony Stovall, co-owner and CEO of Hot Sam’s, a men’s clothing store that has been open for more than 100 years in downtown Detroit. “It may manifest itself into something great for Hot Sam’s later on with all the PR, but for the opportunity that was presented over the weekend, and the sacrifices we made for one month, it did not turn out to be the financial reward we thought it was going to be.”

Hot Sam’s owners were invited onto the NFL draft stage to talk about their business. While the store is located near where the draft stage was constructed, it was outside the draft footprint, making it difficult to get to.

Local businesses that were a part of the draft, though, who offered services such as catering, payroll and concessions, gave great feedback, Kai Bowman, chief operating officer of the Michigan Black Business Alliance, said of several of the business association’s members who were in that group.

For restaurants located within the draft’s footprint, Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (MRLA), said there was some anxiety leading up to the draft because they faced limited flexibility to operate and be left out or lose out. 

“And when the (draft) days came I heard the terms, ‘I did a month’s worth of revenue in three days,’ ” he said. “I heard from another that it (the draft days) was like ‘three times the busiest weekend we have had in a year.’ “

Winslow added: “I think the overall headline is hospitality absolutely crushed it in Detroit.”

Bowman said he also heard from members whose businesses were near the draft that they did well, too, especially when the entry points to the draft were closed Thursday once it reached capacity.

Another big winner, Winslow said, was hotels: The week leading up to the draft was the most successful week for hotels in Detroit.

Through the weekend, he said, “you’re talking about the best week of all time in terms of occupancy and average rate.”

More: How 775,000 people moved into, within downtown during the NFL draft in Detroit

More: Economic impact of Detroit’s NFL draft likely to smash initial predictions

Meanwhile, the pop-up shop Born in Detroit had such a good weekend the owners decided to extend their lease through the summer. They had set up shop on Woodward in the former Moosejaw space.

“It just exceeded all expectations,” Anthony Tomey, co-owner of Born In Detroit and CEO of The Tomey Group, said.

Tomey said Born in Detroit sold out of NFL merchandise in three hours on Thursday and they had to place an emergency order to get more products in by Friday. The store practically sold out of everything by the end of the weekend, with fewer than 10 sweatshirts remaining.

On the first day of the draft, Lisa Walters, operating partner of Mootz Pizzeria + Bar on Library Street about a block off Woodward, said business was phenomenal with a steady flow of customers up until 5 p.m., when they stopped taking tables to set up for a private party.

“Business was definitely double from a normal Thursday,” Walters said. “We definitely doubled our lunch numbers in sales and customers-wise, easily.”

Business during the draft days was also great for side-by-side friendly rivals, American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island, both on Lafayette Street within sight of the draft action.

On the first day of the draft, the line at American Coney Island often stretched outside the restaurant onto Michigan Avenue. At Lafayette Coney Island, the long-standing Detroit eatery told WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) that it sold about 10,000 hot dogs over the three days.

What businesses gave up

Just a few blocks away at Athens Souvlaki (West Fort Street, just south of Griswold) owner George Antonopoulos said last Thursday was a big bump in business and Friday was more than other Fridays, but not by much and it took them all day to do so.

“Whatever we do on Friday in four hours, we doubled that, but it took 12 hours to do,” he said.

Normally, the restaurant closes at 3 p.m. but stayed open later for the draft.

Leading up to the draft, Antonopoulos said business Monday through Wednesday was down 50% because of regular customers working remotely due to road closures and setting up of the draft. And, he said, the same thing is happening this week with those workers working from home.

“We kind of gave up 1½ weeks of business to get two great days,” Antonopoulos said.

What hurt business, Antonopoulos realized, is that while he didn’t expect the entrance to the draft to be in front of the restaurant, it was way down on Jefferson.

“We were fenced out of the whole thing,” he said. “It was a massive flow (of people) but just going by and going down Griswold. I am happy for what happened to the city, but it came at a price for us personally.”

Kujtim (Que) Kolami, owner of the nearby Que Deli, on West Fort Street, also said business was down leading up to the draft due to its regular customers working remotely.

“We expected to catch up and benefit from the draft, but that didn’t happen,” he said.

Kolami was well-prepared with food and staff and thought his deli was in a prime location not far from the draft and with a People Mover station nearby at Fort and Cass.

But, Kolami said while there was a lot of foot traffic, the draft exits were way away on Jefferson and other areas, which he believes also curtailed business.

“However, the way they designed it, in my opinion, they made sure the money was spent there in Campus Martius,” Kolami said. “The south side here didn’t benefit much.”

Kolami ran the same menu during draft week and stayed open later. He expected business to catch up by the weekend, but on Saturday he ran the restaurant with himself and only two others.

“The way the media made it … we thought (with) all these people downtown, there aren’t going to be enough restaurants to feed them, you know,” he said. “But I don’t know what happened. They were here, but not many people this way.”

Lessons learned for downtown Detroit business owners

Looking forward, Tomey of Born in Detroit is confident the store will remain busy with people walking downtown, going to Tigers games and concerts, even though these events don’t typically draw crowds of hundreds of thousands of people like the draft did.

“It’s a great spot for us,” he said of the pop-up location. “It’s a great home base and it’s great branding for us.”

Bowman said the success of his NFL draft pop-up, a food hall called Recess that showcased Black-owned culinary concepts from local owners, showed him that Detroit needs more permanent spaces designed for Black customers.

“You just don’t have as many places (downtown) where the majority of folks who live in the city can actually go and feel like they’re being celebrated, not tolerated,” he said, noting that the majority of Michigan Black Business Alliance’s members who are Detroit-based have businesses in the neighborhoods, not downtown. “I think we would see some more increased foot traffic if, frankly, the businesses that were downtown actually reflected the population.”

Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com.

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

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