PITTSBURGH — We are a little more than a week from the NFL Draft descending on Pittsburgh and while some local businesses are benefitting from the draft boom, there are other businesses that are having to close up shop.
Inside the Cultural Hair Lounge, it’s a hub of activity, but when the NFL Draft and the tens of thousands of visitors come in, they will be moving out.
“While it is exhilarating, it’s very exciting, it does have its drawbacks and that’s not to say that it’s not going to be good, but it is a drawback for us as a small business,” Co-Owner of Cultural Hair Lounge, Sanoma Johnson, said.
The Cultural Hair Lounge is right in the heart of the activity on the ground floor of the building that sits directly across the street from Point State Park.
With road closures and traffic and congestion, their regular customers are staying away.
So for the three draft days the hair salon has no choice but to close on what are usually their busiest days of the week
“It makes it tough because we usually expect a certain amount of income, as to within a week or so or as to the month, but because we don’t have the busy time during the week, it cuts back a little bit on the bottom line,” Co-Owner of Cultural Hair Lounge Brandon Johnson said.
Their main worry is for their employees who are not able to work during this time.
We reached out to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which referred us to Visit Pittsburgh.
In a statement, they said in part:
“While the Draft may temporarily change how regular customers access certain blocks, it also brings an unprecedented volume of pedestrian foot traffic. If possible, some businesses might consider pivoting their strategies—whether through ‘grab-and-go’ offerings or specialized Draft promotions—to capture this new audience."
Sanoma and Brandon Johnson are adjusting, shifting up the work week to open on Monday, when they are normally closed.
And since they own the space, they are hoping to rent it out for the three days to someone who is still looking for a prime spot to host an event, as a base for security, or even use it as a podcast studio.
“Our space is overlooking the Point. It has beautiful windows; it is just really pretty. It is available to anyone who would like to come, have facilities such as a bathroom, a breakroom, there is a refrigerator to refrigerate things. It’s available to anyone who needs to be right in the middle of all of the energy,” Sanoma Johnson said.
They do plan to resume normal operations the week after the draft.
Whether you plan to head into town for the draft or avoid it altogether, we have you covered.
Count on Channel 11 both on air and online for complete coverage of the preparations and aftermath.
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