CHICAGO — Businesses in the South Loop felt good this weekend as thousands packed the downtown area, a majority of which were there to see the one-and-only Taylor Swift.
“We’ve had these tickets for six months and I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Eva Lynch, a Taylor Swift fan from Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
“Oh my gosh I love her,” said Avery Wilson, another Taylor Swift fan from Mount Pleasant. “I love all the eras and how she’s been able to put out music for so long.”
While fans like Lynch and Wilson live out their dreams of seeing one of their favorite artists perform, bars and restaurants in and around the South Loop are excited about the influx of business, and have prepared Taylor Swift-themed food and drink items for the occasion.
“We actually have a triple chocolate shake. It’s chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, chocolate whip cream and chocolate chips,” said Martin Murch, chef, owner and operator of Burger Bar Chicago. “[And a] brioche prime patty with cheese on it and a side of French fries … It’s absolutely the no. 1 item on the menu.”
Murch said on a weekend like this with Taylor Swift in town, he is expecting to cash in about 40% more revenue than what he would expect to take in on a normal weekend.
At Aurelio’s Pizza about a block away, all hands are on deck (according to management, literally every employee is on the schedule this weekend) and they have prepared a special Taylor Swift cocktail, in honor of a social media post made by the pop star.
“She tweeted a while ago about Empress Gin Lavender Lemonades,” said Andrew Jurewicz, general manager of Aurelio’s Pizza. “We will be selling those all weekend.”
For more information on all things Taylor Swift this weekend, you can visit the link below: