Amici restuarant in downtown Athens, Ga. is one of the many business looking for creative ways to attract customers.
(Photo by Courtney Smith)
By Alex Mckelvey
As students leave town for summer, small local businesses scramble to develop creative strategies to attract customers.
According to Rod Parks, associate registrar at the University, roughly 4,500 students are enrolled in Maymester classes. This figure is starkly lower than the final count for 2009’s spring enrollment, a whopping 32,968 students.
That is 28, 468 fewer people participating in Athens commerce. This drop in potential patronage does not go unnoticed by local businesses.
“The summertime is drastically slower,” said Derick Thompson, a line cook at the Barberitos near 5 points. “Barberitos appeals to hungry college students with little money.”
As students leave town for summer, small local businesses scramble to develop creative strategies to attract customers.
According to Rod Parks, associate registrar at the University, roughly 4,500 students are enrolled in Maymester classes. This figure is starkly lower than the final count for 2009’s spring enrollment, a whopping 32,968 students.
That is 28, 468 fewer people participating in Athens commerce. This drop in potential patronage does not go unnoticed by local businesses.
“The summertime is drastically slower,” said Derick Thompson, a line cook at the Barberitos near 5 points. “Barberitos appeals to hungry college students with little money.”
Consequently, when college students leave town, Barberitos sees less business.
Downtown restaurants, such as Amici Italian Café, have also noted how the summer affects business. According to Stephanie Mason, an Amici manager, last month’s average weekly revenue was markedly higher than it is has been in May so far.
The last week in April brought in $12,576, while this past week brought in only $8286.
Businesses seem to have no doubt that the drop in revenue is correlated to the student summer exodus.
So, what do Athens businesses do to survive this cyclic depression?
According to Mason, Amici is trying to develop new approaches for attracting customers.
Recently, Amici offered graduates 50 percent off of their meals if they brought in their diploma.
Mason also said Amici’s corporate office is considering launching an “industry percent-off day,” in which employees of other downtown stores can order Amici food at a discounted rate.
“You have to give people who are in town anyway incentive to eat at your store,” Mason said.
Bars are also taking part in guerilla marketing tactics to attract more business. American Tavern is hosting a bikini contest every Wednesday night to attract salivating men and profiteering broads to its establishment.
Vincent Villella, a Tavern employee mentioned that American Tavern is also sending promoters on campaigns to pool parties hosted by Athens housing developments.
“We also pass out fliers at malls in close-by towns like Winder and Jefferson,” Villella added.
On the whole, these are not new trends. Athens businesses have always had to find ways of persuading locals to fill the void left by students that have left town.
Keith Neace, the owner of the downtown Barberitos says the key to summer survival is learning from past data, and recognizing how to cut costs wherever possible.
Neace noted that he uses a different launderer for aprons and rags in the summer, and he cuts labor by scheduling fewer people. He also cuts back on print advertising.
“It’s always going to be slower in the summer,” Neace said. “You just have to recognize what costs are superficial and what costs are needed for survival.”
Downtown restaurants, such as Amici Italian Café, have also noted how the summer affects business. According to Stephanie Mason, an Amici manager, last month’s average weekly revenue was markedly higher than it is has been in May so far.
The last week in April brought in $12,576, while this past week brought in only $8286.
Businesses seem to have no doubt that the drop in revenue is correlated to the student summer exodus.
So, what do Athens businesses do to survive this cyclic depression?
According to Mason, Amici is trying to develop new approaches for attracting customers.
Recently, Amici offered graduates 50 percent off of their meals if they brought in their diploma.
Mason also said Amici’s corporate office is considering launching an “industry percent-off day,” in which employees of other downtown stores can order Amici food at a discounted rate.
“You have to give people who are in town anyway incentive to eat at your store,” Mason said.
Bars are also taking part in guerilla marketing tactics to attract more business. American Tavern is hosting a bikini contest every Wednesday night to attract salivating men and profiteering broads to its establishment.
Vincent Villella, a Tavern employee mentioned that American Tavern is also sending promoters on campaigns to pool parties hosted by Athens housing developments.
“We also pass out fliers at malls in close-by towns like Winder and Jefferson,” Villella added.
On the whole, these are not new trends. Athens businesses have always had to find ways of persuading locals to fill the void left by students that have left town.
Keith Neace, the owner of the downtown Barberitos says the key to summer survival is learning from past data, and recognizing how to cut costs wherever possible.
Neace noted that he uses a different launderer for aprons and rags in the summer, and he cuts labor by scheduling fewer people. He also cuts back on print advertising.
“It’s always going to be slower in the summer,” Neace said. “You just have to recognize what costs are superficial and what costs are needed for survival.”
Alex and Leila (and Courtney?),
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thorough story, with lots of good reporting from the businesses. It's a perennial story, which means it's the kind of thing you can report every year, but it's handled very well here. The numbers from the registrar give it some real heft (though remember than any number over three digits -- like $8,286 -- needs a comma). Getting the sales numbers from one of the stores is really impressive; usually businesses don't share those.
I know this was edited in a hurry; some more of the mechanical errors might have been caught otherwise. In general, it's a good story.