Comic-Con is almost ready to touch down in San Diego for the 55th year!
In the Gaslamp Quarter, the buildings are getting wrapped, and everything is getting scrubbed down.
“We love Comic-Con week. It is an absolute holiday at the San Diego Convention Center,” said Maren Dougherty.
Dougherty is the head of communications at the San Diego Convention Center. She said, no surprise, that Comic-Con is far and away the center's biggest event every year — and of course, that means big bucks.
“We see an economic impact here of more than $160 million, including the direct and indirect spending from visitors … the hotels, the restaurants, the bars, buying things at local boutiques … all of that is what goes into that economic impact,” Dougherty said.
Just a block away from the Convention Center at Houston Hot Chicken, general manager Jesse Juarez and his crew were getting ready for their first Comic-Con. They’ve only been open since October of last year.
“So when we are in the middle of that rush, everybody’s calm and cool under pressure, right? So just training, making sure they trust their abilities and trust their instincts, and they’re able to get everything out fast,” Juarez said.
A couple of doors down from the restaurant is the optical boutique Eyes on Fifth. Unlike Juarez, owner Phil Harris has been through the madness for the last 20 years. But unlike the restaurants and bars, it’s hard to predict whether it will be a big weekend for him, sales-wise.
“Because we lose all of our locals. The locals, as most people, will not come down here unless they’re coming to Comic-Con, and they know to avoid it. So, we do lose that local traffic for about a week there … I lose that, but if people want something in here that I have, sure, I’m gonna have a great day,” Harris said.
Dougherty said they’re expecting more than 135,000 visitors this year. So, it’s no surprise that hotels in the Gaslamp are at 98% capacity for this weekend of weekends.
