DENVER -- One week and counting until Denver steps into the world spotlight with the start of the Democratic National Convention.

By this time next week, the opening gavel will have come down at the Pepsi Center.

Crews are now working 20-hour shifts to get the Pepsi Center ready for Monday.

At last count 43 miles of cable had been laid.

Not far away, restaurant and bar owners are also working overtime to get ready for the convention.

Video: Denver Preparing Western Welcome For DNC

For the first time in its history, the historic Cruise Room bar will be leased out for the week.

Jeanna Gaydeski, the director of catering told 7NEWS that the week will bring, "a scale of business they will never see again."

She added, "We really had to open up our minds as to what this could mean for us and the city of Denver."

She said they have a high powered VIP list, but she wasn't allowed to leak any names.

Across town, the in the Curtis Park neighborhood, two graffiti artists said they are proud of their Barack Obama portrait that they painted in an alley. The two said they did the job for pay, but by the time they were done researching their subject, they had become fans.