Maggiano's boss prepared for anything at DNC

By Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Linda Mcconnell / Special To The Rocky

Bill Billings, managing partner of Maggiano's, earned his convention spurs in 1996 while serving as managing partner at Maggiano's in downtown Chicago. It was a "very electric time," he says.

Bill Billings, managing partner for Maggiano's Little Italy, has some advice for Denver eateries gearing up for this summer's Democratic National Convention: Prepare for the unexpected.

Billings should know. He may well be one of the few Denver restaurateurs who has experienced a major political convention.

Billings, 52, was Maggiano's managing partner based in Chicago during the 1996 convention, a whirlwind week of unexpected drop-ins from media luminaries and throngs of famished delegates showing up for an impromptu family-style meal.

"The restaurants that are prepared will have a lot of spontaneous business," Billings said. "You literally have to be prepared for anything at anytime. I think what a lot of Denverites may not realize is how much celebrity awareness there's going to be. . . . It's a very electric time."

Heading into the Chicago convention, many downtown restaurateurs feared that suburbanites would stay at home to avoid the traffic. But Maggiano's, like many eating establishments, ended up having one of its busiest weeks ever.

"It was almost like the celebrity status of the convention took over," he said. "In the paper, you'd read about where George Stephanopoulos was having dinner, and where the senators were entertaining."

Several of Denver's bigger venues and high-end dining establishments are already booked for private parties during the convention, said Pete Meersman, CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association.

Right now, the big issue for restaurants and suppliers alike is waiting to find out what streets will be closed during the convention.

"We're a little worried about the barricades and the motorcades, but it's the unplanned things where the police suddenly decide to close down the streets that you really have to worry about," Meersman said.

The events at the Pepsi Center aren't expected to wrap up until around 10 p.m. during the convention, so Maggiano's 16th Street Mall location is planning to stay open until midnight to capture late-night diners. Including the banquet room, bar and patio, Maggiano's seats around 630 people. While the restaurant has several banquets booked, Billings expects that reservations won't start really coming in until later this summer.

Maggiano's success during the Chicago convention resulted in then-President Bill Clinton returning to the restaurant the following month for a fundraiser. Though Clinton was in the restaurant less than four hours, Billings spent two weeks immersed in the security preparations leading up to the event, right down to having a Navy colonel oversee the preparation of the president's meal.

The event led to the creation of a couple of menu staples that remain to this day, including the Marsala sauce-based Rigatoni D pasta created just for Clinton.

davisj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2514