CHARLOTTE, N.C. Organizers for the Republican National Convention are expected to start touring alternate sites for the RNC.

What You Need To Know

  • Organizers for the Republican National Convention are expected to start touring alternate sites for the RNC
  • The RNC originally expected to bring 50,000 visitors and a $200 million economic impact to the region. 
  • Over a two-month span during the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 900,000 North Carolinians filed for unemployment. It's more than the total amount who filed in 2009, during the great recession. 

Gov. Roy Cooper couldn’t commit to a full convention by the Wednesday deadline, and it's not certain what will happen with the RNC. Small businesses like Zinicola in Charlotte hoped to count on the convention to boost business coming off the pandemic. The owner says even as North Carolina enters phase 2 of the economy reopening, customers have been slow to come back and the restaurant is struggling. 

“So I’m sure everyone is feeling the same pain and stress that I’m feeling as well,” Zinicola head chef and owner Richard Cranmer said.

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The RNC originally expected to bring 50,000 visitors and a $200 million economic impact to the region. Over a two-month span during the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 900,000 North Carolinians filed for unemployment.

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It's more than the total amount who filed in 2009, during the Great Recession.