MILWAUKEE — Restaurants near Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee are hoping to cash in during the RNC. For those right near the arena, it likely won’t be a tough sell, with thousands of delegates, press and contractors all hungry.

However, restaurants a bit further from the action may need to work harder to recruit customers.

It is a challenge Paul Whigham is taking on gladly. Whigham owns Mi Casa Su Cafe on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, about a mile and a half north of Fiserv Forum.

Whigham said he is optimistic that business will be strong during the event.

“I think we are going to get a swell of people out of general curiosity that are going to come by just to see what the general goings-on are about. People that are visiting from out of town are going to come as well,” said Whigham.

Whigham said he has been working alongside the local King Drive Business Improvement District as well as other business to try and maximize neighborhood exposure during the RNC. He said he believes Mi Casa Su Cafe will find their niche with overflow traffic.

“I am imagining that with the traffic so heavy even with the number of restaurants right there downtown, it is going to be too many people, and nobody is going to want to wait for food for a long time, so they are hopefully going to venture more to this area,” said Whigham.

Staff at Mi Casa Su Cafe are being proactive when it comes to getting their name out to RNC attendees, doing some direct marketing that will be hard to ignore.

“Myself along with a couple other staff members, we have flyers and menus printed that we are going to pass out in the area of Fiserv Forum. I am only walking distance from Fiserv Forum, so we have flyers already made with menus and specials we are running,” said Whigham.

Whigham said he has extra staff on call in the event he needs them during the RNC if things get especially busy.