SEATTLE — From Emerald City Comic Con in March to the four-day gaming celebration Pax West in September, hundreds of thousands of people have filled the Convention Center's Summit building since it opened in January.
"Better attendance, better spending and clients loving the building," said President and CEO of the Seattle Convention Center Jeff Blosser.
According to Blosser, 58 conventions were booked at the start of the year. They ended up booking 88 as of mid-December.
But while conventions are up, retail is still down.
"How do we make sure that we have that authentic experience in Seattle for people that are out of town?" said Blosser.
His goal was to not just energize Pine Street and the neighborhood but to also have the retail speak to Seattle.
They ended up partnering with three iconic Seattle names: Piroshky Piroshky Bakery, Monorail Espresso, and The Pike Brewing Company.
All three were supposed to be open the last week of November. The Pike Brewing Company is now expected to open the second week of December due to inspections, according to the Seattle Convention Center.
Before the three businesses were in the picture, Bombo Italian Kitchen was the only dining option at Summit.
There's even a sign in the lobby pointing visitors to options they have to walk to for a meal.
"Anytime we are situated in a place that has really great natural foot traffic... we're expecting more customers," said Kael Soriano, Piroshky Piroshky's marketing director.
Within a week of opening, Soriano says the bakery sold about 200 piroshkys.
Welcome news after closing and then reopening their Third Avenue location last year out of safety concerns.
But even with these three new businesses, there are still 13,000 sq feet or about 60% of unoccupied retail space.
Blosser says the convention center wasn't immune to the slow retail comeback after COVID-19, but that the tide is starting to turn.
"We have a lot of conversations going on but there's nothing signed," he said while adding it takes a year to go from a signed contract to a store opening.
That's December 2024 at the earliest.
But he's hopeful the three Seattle staples now lining the south side of Summit, bring the heat they need.