CNN-Politico Grill to be a highly anticipated event at the Democratic convention in Chicago

WASHINGTON — Admission to CNN-Politico Grill, a pop-up Chicago food and beverage restaurant and production center under construction near the United Center, will be a popular ticket to the Democratic convention.

“Every convention seems like a great place to see and be seen,” said Ted Johnson, political editor of Deadline.com, which covers the intersection of media and politics. “An underappreciated element of a convention is the willingness of people to network and meet each other.”

I met Mo Elleithee, executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute for Politics and Public Service and a member of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee at the CNN-Politico Grill during the Republican convention in Milwaukee.

“It’s the title everyone wants to have,” Elleithee said, because the grill is like “a political summer camp for agents and journalists.”

This story begins at the 2004 Republican convention in New York, when CNN took over a restaurant near Madison Square Garden.

At subsequent conventions, CNN has continued this trend, with the main feature being that the grill, accessible by invitation only, is located within the convention’s tightly guarded security perimeter, making it easy to access because it is close and convenient to the convention arena.

For the 2024 conventions in Milwaukee and Chicago, where the convention kicks off Aug. 19 at the United Center, CNN is partnering with Politico. The Grill is the convention’s home base for CNN and Politico programming — podcasts, live streams, television.

David Leavy, CEO of CNN Worldwide, said: “I think the gridiron plays an important role in conventions. CNN has the power to bring together campaign leaders, policy makers, major media outlets, and we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary.”

Jonathan Greenberger, Politico’s executive vice president, said, “There are a lot of questions about who’s going to hold power in Washington six months from now,” and “whoever holds power,” Greenberger said, will be in the hot seat.

At the GOP convention, Milwaukee’s iconic Turner Hall ballroom, less than a block from the Fiserv Forum arena, was transformed into a restaurant, bar, ice cream parlor and lounge with space for live CNN broadcasts and a room for Politico news programming.

In Milwaukee, everything from the decor to the menu items was Wisconsin-centric.

During the Democratic convention, the grill, just steps from the United Center, will have a distinctly Chicago design and menu.

The grill is open from 4pm to approximately 2am. Food and drinks are complimentary.

Why do it? Leavy said: “For CNN, obviously there’s the brand value, but also our talent and our reporters that are here, and we’re able to develop those relationships with key sources – to be able to book talent because part of the appeal of the grill is that it’s a live studio, and so we broadcast daily from here and it gives a kind of live television energy that makes the grill exciting.

“For us, it’s about brand awareness, relationship building and leadership. It’s a way to break down the day-to-day issues and speak to the people who matter most in a way that you don’t often get in Washington.”