DOWNTOWN DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) — 775,000 people attended the NFL Draft in Detroit over the weekend.
There were quite a few new businesses that opened in downtown Detroit ahead of the draft.
Watch a live update from Detroit officials at 9:30 a.m. here on the economic impact
“Thursday night was busy until close with a private party,” said Walter Gregorio, director of operations for Mootz and Side Hustle Lounge. “Friday, busy all day, not as busy as we hoped for, but Saturday was record setting for us.”
Walter Gregorio says the Mootz team worked hard to get Side Hustle Lounge opened by the first day of the draft.
“We saw a payoff, there were a lot of people who have never seen Side Hustle didn’t know anything about it, we had signs on the walls for about five months advertising it so the build up was there,” Gregorio said. “The fact that we were able to open it and let the new people see it was great.”
“How’s it feel to know people came and supported local Detroit businesses?” I asked.
“Phenomenal, the reputation has changed for a lot of people in Detroit,” Gregorio said. “Those of us that work down here and hang out down here know it’s a great place to be, it’s only getting better everyday but I think a lot of people learned something about Detroit.
Just around the corner from Mootz and side hustle is Easy Peasy, a new bar on Woodward.
“It did, we’ve been crazy every single day of the week, it’s been amazing to see locals, folks we know from Detroit, people from out of town, everybody in the city so it’s been great,” said Matt Megener, co-owner of Easy Peasy.
Matt Mergener is one of the owners of easy Peasy.
He says he’s so happy people who attended the draft were able to enjoy new and old businesses that are downtown.
“They loved it, they Woodward, they loved the city, they loved all the neighborhoods they visited, we’ve been lucky enough to talk to everybody about how they’ve experienced the city so it was a good time,” Mergener said.
As far as what’s next for these businesses, side hustle will continue serving customers.
Meanwhile, Easy Peasy will shut down for a few weeks and open sometime later in May.
