Spring Break
Local business feels loss of students
Summer means tough times for small businesses
Ricki Dugdale
Issue date: 7/25/07 Section: News
Some Fort Collins' business can't wait for the fall semester.
For nine weeks, local business suffers as CSU students leave town. Finding a way to survive the summer becomes top priority for any business dependent on the income provided by students. With students spending about $19 million a month in Fort Collins, the loss of money takes a toll on many small businesses.
Some businesses, like Revolution Donuts on Mulberry Street and Qdoba on Shields Avenue, have even cut their hours over the summer.
And students working over the summer have noticed their workloads lessen this summer.
Andy Foth, 20, has had a little more down time at Pop-A-Lock, a locksmith company in Fort Collins.
"Business has dropped because all the college kids are gone," Foth said. "They are usually the ones that lock themselves out."
Restaurants, like Jimmy John's, are also seeing a decline in their college-aged consumers.
"Dinner time is when we notice a big difference," senior CSU student Liesl Brcindenbach said. "We get less college students and more families."
Usually consumed by the amount of students visiting throughout the day because of their location right off of campus, Jimmy John's employees have had to deal with hours of little to no traffic.
With business slower than they are used to, students still make the best of what they are given.
"There is a difference during the summer compared to the spring but it's not enough to get mad about," Foth said.
David May, president and CEO of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce said businesses can expect a couple things when summer comes.
"There are two general impacts: a drop in some types of purchases and a change in work force as some part-time workers leave for the summer," May said.
Although summer does leave an impact on the smaller businesses around town, larger corporations have been able to skirt around the decrease in sales.
Working at the Fort Collins branch of the United States Department of Agriculture, sophomore biology major Tamara Higgs works on experiments behind the scenes and sees little business endeavors.
For nine weeks, local business suffers as CSU students leave town. Finding a way to survive the summer becomes top priority for any business dependent on the income provided by students. With students spending about $19 million a month in Fort Collins, the loss of money takes a toll on many small businesses.
Some businesses, like Revolution Donuts on Mulberry Street and Qdoba on Shields Avenue, have even cut their hours over the summer.
And students working over the summer have noticed their workloads lessen this summer.
Andy Foth, 20, has had a little more down time at Pop-A-Lock, a locksmith company in Fort Collins.
"Business has dropped because all the college kids are gone," Foth said. "They are usually the ones that lock themselves out."
Restaurants, like Jimmy John's, are also seeing a decline in their college-aged consumers.
"Dinner time is when we notice a big difference," senior CSU student Liesl Brcindenbach said. "We get less college students and more families."
Usually consumed by the amount of students visiting throughout the day because of their location right off of campus, Jimmy John's employees have had to deal with hours of little to no traffic.
With business slower than they are used to, students still make the best of what they are given.
"There is a difference during the summer compared to the spring but it's not enough to get mad about," Foth said.
David May, president and CEO of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce said businesses can expect a couple things when summer comes.
"There are two general impacts: a drop in some types of purchases and a change in work force as some part-time workers leave for the summer," May said.
Although summer does leave an impact on the smaller businesses around town, larger corporations have been able to skirt around the decrease in sales.
Working at the Fort Collins branch of the United States Department of Agriculture, sophomore biology major Tamara Higgs works on experiments behind the scenes and sees little business endeavors.
Be the first to comment on this story