Demand for a high-rise rotating restaurant isn't what it used to be.
Several weeks ago, the Downtown Sheraton Hotel on Union Street (formerly the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza) closed the Pinnacle Restaurant on its rotating 28th floor.
Jon McFarland, the General Manager of the hotel, said that in the era of downtown teenage cruising, the restaurant was simply not doing as much business as it had once done.
"Other than Second Avenue and Lower Broadway, there is not a lot of activity downtown at night and not a lot of folks live downtown," Mr. McFarland said.
The Sheraton now opens its rotating 28th floor for two kinds of events: ala carte dining on special days such as Valentine's Day and catered functions such as wedding receptions. "We thought there would be a pretty good demand for a very unique catering atmosphere that no one else could offer," he said.
Mr. McFarland said that so far, the catering business has done "pretty good." But he added that "we would love to rent it out more."
Mr. McFarland said the rotating floor has created relatively few engineering and structural problems over the years. "It has been pretty maintenance-free," he said.
The 473-room Downtown Sheraton switched over from Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza last September. It was built in 1975 and is owned by Memphis-based Davidson Hotel Co.