The CNN Grill is a pop-up restaurant and broadcasting studio that the American cable news channel CNN has operated near major party United States presidential nominating conventions, as well as at the 2011 and 2012 iterations of the South by Southwest festival. The concept originated as the "CNN Diner" during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Since 2008, CNN Grills have been located at each major party presidential nominating convention (except for the COVID-19 pandemic impacted conventions of the 2020 election).

CNN Grills serve both as a dinning venue for event attendees and broadcast studio for CNN.^[1] CNN Grills are not open to the public, and are instead are invite-only venues where food is served for free. https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2012/10/30/servers-say-cnn-grill-shorted-them-on-promised-gratuities/26515444007/ https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2024/02/28/cnn-and-politico-announce-partnership-for-2024-political-conventions/ ^[2]

The CNN Grill has been described as serving as the "headquarters" for CNN's convention coverage.^[3]

Combined, the CNN Grills at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 conventions drew 5,000 visitors. https://deadline.com/2024/02/cnn-politico-democratic-republican-conventions-1235840536/

The value to CNN of staging the CNN Grill is, in part, the brand visibility it creates for CNN at conventions. Furthermore, since CNN Grills have proven a popular sought-after location for conventiongoers to congregate, it is credited with aiding CNN in fostering relations that can later benefit it in booking on-air talent. The venue also serves the network as a live studio with a kinetic backdrop that benefits CNN by livening the on-screen optics of its convention coverage.^[2]

The concept of the CNN Grill debuted at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City,^[4] as the "CNN Diner".^[5] It was staged at the Tick Tock Diner. In 2005, it received an award for "Best Use of Event Marketing" in the annual awards given by the marketing industry magazine PROMO.^[6]

CNN Grill at Brooklyn's restaurant during the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver

CNN Grill at Eagle Street Grille (right), photographed on the eve of the 2008 Republican convention in Saint Paul, which was held inside of the Xcel Energy Center (left)

In 2008 the concept returned under the name "CNN Grill", with CNN erecting CNN Grills in both convention cities. For the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, a CNN Grill was housed at Brooklyn's, a restaurant located adjacent to the main convention venue (the Pepsi Center). For the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, the CNN Grill was located at Eagle Street Grille, located adjacent to main convention venue (the Xcel Energy Center).^[5][6] Each location was adjacent to the delegate entrances to the "hard security zone" of the conventions.^[6]

The CNN Grills at the 2008 conventions were developed for CNN by Civic Entertainment Group.^[6] During the convention, the venues functioned both as eateries and as studios for television broadcasts and online content.^[5] The venues were each a secondary broadcast studio for CNN's convention coverage.^[6] At the CNN Grills, a food menu by Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group^[5][6] and a special "CNN Brew" by Breckenridge Brewery were served.^[5] Michael Romano served as executive chef of the venues.^[6]

The brick exterior of the Denver venue was temporarily adorned with quotes relating to politics. To collect these quotes, CNNPolitics.com editors had asked its site users to submit personal (ten words or less) descriptions of what politics meant to them.^[6]

https://www.nexttv.com/news/cnn-fires-grill-2008-conventions-365614 https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/cnn-packs-the-grill/

Award https://www.cablefax.com/archives/cablefaxies-awards-mdash-media-event-cnn-for-cnn-grill

2012 partnered with Google for its presidential convention CNN Grills.^[7] In Tampa, the CNN Grill was located across the entrance plaza from the main convention venue (the Tampa Bay Times Forum). In Charlotte, the CNN Grill was located at EpiCentre (at the corner of East Trade Street and College Street), near the main convention venue (the Time Warner Cable Arena). The menus in each city were designed to reflect local food culture of the convention locations.^[8]

CNN Grill for the 2016 Republican convention in Cleveland

Reporters Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cuomo sit with U.S. Senator Chris Coons before an interview at the CNN Grill at Xfinity Live during the 2016 Democratic convention in Philadelphia

https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2016/07/11/cnn-grill-coming-to-cleveland-philly/

Philadelphia https://www.phillyvoice.com/cnn-grill-coming-xfinity-live-democratic-national-convention/

===2020 plans===d Before the COVID-19 pandemic pandemic led to a downsizing of conventions, CNN had planned to stage its CNN Grill yet again. CNN had already reserved use of the Turner Hall for the CNN Grill it had planned to stage during the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.^[9] Like at past conventions, its announced CNN Grill at Turner Hall was to be a CNN broadcast studio and a dinning space operating during the convention.^[10] CNN had been seeking city permission to install temporary signage on the exterior of the venue, which required permission due to the building's status as an historic landmark. When the Democratic Party delayed its convention dates (in hopes that a later date would increase the likelihood of being able to stage a full-scale presidential convention), CNN worked was able to secure use of Turner Hall for the dates it would now need it to stage a CNN Grill during the new convention dates, with the venue needing to cancel multiple other bookings to accommodate CNN.^[3] However, CNN's plans were abandoned due to the impacts of the pandemic,^[11] with CNN pulling out once it became apparent that pandemic health concerns were likely to motivate to downscale their convention into a largely-virtual event.^[3]

The CNN Grill returned at the 2024 presidential conventions, being presented in partnership with Politico as the "CNN-Politico Grill".^[4] In 2024, the venues were not only used for CNN productions, but also for Politico productions. The venues served as a production space for television broadcasts, livestreams, and podcasts.^[2]

2024 https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2024/02/28/cnn-and-politico-announce-partnership-for-2024-political-conventions https://www.newscaststudio.com/2024/02/28/cnn-politico-grills-conventions-2024/ ^[12]

Milwaukee https://biztimes.com/cnn-politico-taking-over-turner-hall-for-republican-national-convention/ Turner Hall, a ballroom and events space located adjacent to the main venue of the convention (the Fiserv Forum), was temporarily converted by CNN to house production workspace both itself and Politico. For invited visitors to congregate, CNN set-up a restaurant, a bar, an ice cream parlor, and a lounge. Venue decor and menu items were designed to reflect the convention host state of Wisconsin.^[2]

Chicago

___ located cross the street from United Center.^[13]

CNN Grill during South by Southwest in 2011

CNN Grill during South by Southwest in 2012

During the 2011 and 2012 iterations of South by Southwest (a festival and conference in Austin, Texas), CNN erected a CNN Grill at Max's Wine Dive, adjacent to the main venue (Austin Convention Center).^[14] http://www.jhuschka.com/cnngrillsxsw

2011 https://www.cnet.com/culture/cnn-at-sxsw-all-about-citizen-media-connected-tv/ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/cnn-makes-over-its-image-with-diner-bands-beer-at-sxsw-1178811/ ______ ^[14]

In 2012, https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/17/the-cnn-grill-returns-to-south-by-southwest/

https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/17/the-cnn-grill-returns-to-south-by-southwest/amp/