Winter break effects on downtown Kent
Kent’s uptown is always filled with both residents and students, but what happens to business when many students leave for Winter Break?
[rpavideo caption=” Reporter Kyle Heintzelman looks at how downtown businesses prepare for winter break in an empty college town.”]Development_Heintzelman[/rpavideo]
Kent’s uptown businesses stay especially vitalized while Kent State students attend classes during their Spring and Fall semesters. However, many students leave the city when winter break arrives. Local shops, bars and restaurants have different experiences in business during the holiday season.
Kent’s Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lori Wemhoff says there is a noticeable difference uptown when the Spring semester officially ends.
“The foot traffic definitely lessens when students are gone over break,” Wemhoff said. “You can tell many students are gone, but it’s not like [uptown] completely shuts down.”
Wemhoff says many residents still take advantage of the local shops and eateries during winter break.
Ray’s Place, a bar and restaurant located on Franklin Avenue, draws in a larger crowd during the holiday season. Owner Charles Thomas says Ray’s Place has some of its busiest weeks after Spring semester and around New Year’s.
“Every day and every night we’ll actually be busier than during the school year,” Thomas said. “It’s people celebrating the holidays, it’s students coming back from other schools, and it’s people going out, in general, during the holidays.”
Thomas says he and his staff keep business records in orderto gain control of the busy season. He increases the number of employees working during these times.be busier than during the school year,” Thomas said. “It’s people celebrating the holidays, it’s students coming back from other schools, and it’s people going out, in general, during the holidays.”
During winter break, Ray’s Place staysbusy for lunch, dinner and late into the evening.
“It’s just a good time of year,” Thomas said. “Everybody’s in a good mood. Everybody is not in as big of a hurry either.”
Ariel Miller, a sales associate at Off the Wagon, a local shop that sells weird and unusual gifts located on East Main Street, says the business starts booming during the holiday season as well.
“The really cool thing about winter break is it doesn’t actually affect us very much,” Miller said. “We don’t usually lose business. Our highest business times are during winter break.”
Miller says this is due to the large and diverse crowd that enjoys Off the Wagon. Both younger generations and older generations visit the shop.
“We get a lot of people in that we normally do, and we get new people in who might be driving through town to pick up their kids from school. They stop in and have a good laugh.”
College students are known to enjoy pizza, and Guy’s Pizza Manager Doug Gent says the shop slows down considerably during winter break.
“We usually close about an hour early, and our late nights aren’t as busy is the main thing,” Gent said. “There are not as many people going out to the bars.”
Although Guy’s Pizza, located on Water Street,takes a hit in business during late hours, it does not exclusively rely on bar-goers. Many orders come from Kent residents during the day.
The employees order and prepare lessfood to avoid wasting money during their slow season.
Kent’suptown area offers many local shops and eateries. Each pertains to a different audience. Some are affected positively while others are slower during winter break.
Links:
http://www.kentbiz.com
