MILWAUKEE (NewsNation) — Aside from the contention and debate surrounding the Republican National Convention, one topic proved to be more unifying than any other: the food.

In a state known for its sausage, cheese and beer, GOP loyalists flocked to Milwaukee to witness the official coronation of former President Donald Trump as the party’s nominee for president, but the out-of-towners showed up in various stages of culinary preparedness.

Apollo Fuhriman, a delegate from Seattle, arrived in Milwaukee last week aware of the onslaught of bratwurst he knew awaited. What he wasn’t ready for, however, was another Wisconsin staple – the soft pretzel that comes accompanied by a side of Wisconsin cheese.

“Yeah, the brats are good, but the pretzel is really outstanding,” Fuhriman told NewsNation. “You say, ‘It’s just a simple pretzel,’ but no, Milwaukee does it right.”

Milwaukee restaurants show up for RNC guests

Business has been booming at local watering hole Mo’s Irish Pub, which has two Milwaukee locations and three more in Houston.

Brent Perkins, the director of operations, said that his staff hasn’t experienced any difficulties with conventiongoers, many of whom head to the pub after the evening sessions end around 10 p.m. local time.

“All of my employees here have been very grateful, and they’re happy with the money they’re making,” Perkins told NewsNation.

Mo’s specializes in Irish favorites such as fish and chips, Reuben sandwiches and shepherd’s pie — all of which are made from scratch. The restaurant has catered to lawmakers and delegates alike, contributing to an environment that Perkins calls “all energy.”

The uptick in business kicks off a busy summer, starting with the Northwestern Mutual Annual Meeting on the heels of the RNC followed by the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival and the Milwaukee Air and Water Show.

With much of downtown closed off to visitors and residents alike, Perkins said that the increase in business comes with some extra work.

“You really have to cater your business to what’s happening downtown,” he said. “A lot of times, when there’s nothing going on downtown, there’s nobody down here. So we love the summertime because it’s convention season, and there’s so much stuff going on.”

Other local businesses are taking advantage of convention traffic while offering an alternative to local Wisconsin favorites.

Restaurants located in a strip of eateries just outside of the Baird Convention Center serve everything from wood-fired pizza, street corn, frozen turtle cheesecake on a stick ($10), churros, fried cheese curds ($10.50) and even vegan BBQ at Gray Jett Café.

While the Milwaukee restaurant also offers traditional barbecue, its top-selling vegan brisket sandwich ($16), made of seasoned jackfruit, has been a favorite among visitors.

Jolie Brox campaigns for her vegan sandwich like she’s going after undecided voters. She worked the stand outside of the Baird Center along with owner Shana Gray.

Brox says the key to trying their offerings is to keep an open mind.

“More people are open to it,” Brox told NewsNation. “People are tired of getting sick from all of the regular stuff that’s been part of our diets, and so I think more people are open to an alternative. Some people won’t go 100% vegan and will just substitute here and there, and so we cater to those people who are in between.”

Much of the RNC traffic will clear out after the convention ends late Thursday night. They will return home satisfied, both politically and with the food that filled their stomachs all week long. Fuhriman’s message as he returns to the Pacific Northwest is simple.

“Come on out, bring an empty stomach, be thirsty,” he said. “You’ll be eating all day long.”

RNC brings extra fees to dinner bills

The array of food does come with some added costs.

The menu placards that sit on each table at The New Fashioned, a pub that sits directly outside of Fiserv Forum, include a small print message indicating that the establishment adds a 22% surcharge that is distributed evenly among the restaurant’s staff.

The fee also helps to foster a “collaborative environment focused on delivering blow-your-mind customer service.”

At the nearby Oak Barrel Public House, a 22% “RNC Gratuity” also appears on each check. A restaurant manager told NewsNation that the surcharge is being added to checks this week and for the upcoming Northwestern Mutual Annual Meeting next week, adding that all funds go directly to restaurant staff.

Despite some extra fees, Milwaukee received high marks for its “Midwest niceness.” Visitors eating both inside and outside of the restricted zone near Fiserv Forum didn’t find the cost of what they were forking over for food outlandish.

Fuhriman hasn’t experienced any sticker shock when it comes to food prices, saying he has typically encountered “regular restaurant” prices while finding the cost of food inside of Fiserv Forum a bit higher. But nothing has risen to the level of what he would call price-gauging or “jacked up.”

The bigger concern was finding somewhere to eat within the restricted zone. While many local establishments immediately around the convention hall offered plenty of drink options, finding something more substantial proved difficult for those who did not want to go through a Secret Service-level security check to find lunch or dinner.

Diane Dees, an alternative delegate from Dallas, managed to find cheese curds and other pub food at The New Fashioned. While Dees and her husband, Eddie, didn’t find the food inside the venue too tasty, they enjoyed what they found after busing in from Madison each morning from their hotel.

However, with a busy convention schedule, the couple sometimes needs to remind themselves they need to eat. Unimpressed with the cheeseburger inside of the convention venue and yet to try the hometown-favorite bratwurst, the Texas couple seemed content to eat what they could find. So far, the offerings have been to their liking, especially when it comes to cheese curds, which they describe as a mozzarella stick in nugget form just with a different breading.

While Eddie Dees was slow to give a nod to sausage made outside of Texas, his wife had no complaints about the fried bits of cheese sitting in front of her as the couple dined outdoors.

“They’re good,” Diane said. “I like them.”