As thousands of fans cheered at the Sprint Center for the Big 12 Tournament, tensions rose just blocks down the street as people packed in and around the Midland Theatre for the Donald Trump rally.
Cosentino's downtown mgr said last night was chaotic w/ Trump rally, Big 12. Shut doors for safety. @41ActionNews pic.twitter.com/s8Uv5eCYjv
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) March 13, 2016
41 Action News talked to Cosentino's Market, which was right in the middle of the action, about how it affected business.
"It was pretty peaceful for the first several hours," said store director Steve Husk.
Cosentino's is right across the street from The Midland Theatre, where Trump's rally was held. Protesters lined the sidewalk right outside the store.
Husk said business was great until Trump arrived.
Cosentino's said they did a lot of biz leading up to Trump's arrival, everything peaceful. Got crazy toward the end.
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) March 13, 2016
"I think the tourists were coming in. Big 12 people were coming in. After it got a little crazy, we shut our doors for safety," Husk said.
Cosentino's shut the doors around 8 p.m. until they closed at 10 p.m.
"It would've been a good night for us, too," Husk said. "Saturday is a good night. We lost our Saturday night sales because of the rally."
Amid the screaming outside, where police had to pepper spray a crowd of protesters, Husk says the situation was handled well.
Cosentino's says @kcpolice were awesome last night getting things under control. @41ActionNews
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) March 13, 2016
"I think they kept it under control. The people who were making a scene, I think they were pretty peaceful about it. It wasn't violent, and we didn't have the windows broken. We're lucky," Husk said.
Folks we talked to who were at the rally Saturday night said it could have been worse.
However they said it could've been worse, store doesn't have damage, clean outside. @41ActionNews
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) March 13, 2016
"Everyone over here was actually very nice and polite and it was not a bad experience," Matt Ciacco said.
"It's a sticky situation of how many police officers you need to keep the public safe. So you know, it's a win-win situation," Chris Miller said.
Sunday morning Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte tweeted his satisfaction with the way the event played out. He said thanks to the police's actions, downtown businesses are "intact" and ready for the public's business.
.@kcpolice Thanks to work &cooperation of many yesterday, downtown businesses remain intact &ready 4 your business. pic.twitter.com/Vt6a2Ynf0e
— chiefforte (@ChiefForte) March 13, 2016
.@kcpolice coordination, calmness & composure of officers was remarkable throughout the evening under very stressful conditions. Thank you!
— chiefforte (@ChiefForte) March 13, 2016
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Sarah Plake can be reached at sarah.plake@kshb.com.
