Bloomington businesses miss students in summer

After the stress of final exams and moving out of the dorms is over, lazy days by the pool and moving back home beckons IU students. But for Bloomington business owners, summertime often means a lack of students, declining sales and reducing employees.\nAt Jimmy John's on 10th St., the usual hustle and bustle isn't quite there. The scent of freshly baked French bread wafts in the air, mixed with spicy peppers and Hellmann's mayonnaise, but the outdoor picnic tables remain empty. \nGeneral manager Nicole Shotts says business during the year is very busy, but the store loses business during the summer. She attributes one of the reasons to delivery. \n"We deliver to the dorms and frats mostly, and obviously those customers aren't here anymore," Shotts said. \nStaffing can also be a problem, since the majority of students leave Bloomington for the summer. \n"We hire students, and it can be a problem to find students who want to work during the summer," Shotts said.\nTo cope with the lack of students, Shotts has also decided to cut labor due to decreasing sales.\n"We are extremely short-staffed," Shotts said. "Today, I baked the bread, answered the phone, made sandwiches, and worked the register."\nCurrently, Jimmy John's has one delivery person, but employs two during the busy lunchtime hours. \nDespite the dismal circumstances, this summer has been more successful for Shotts than previous seasons.\n"Right now, our percentage of sales for this summer are 70 to 75 percent more than last summer, which is almost double," Shotts said.\nIn the fall, business for Jimmy John's is a complete turn-around. \n"Sales almost triple, it's an incredible change," she said. \nPitaya, a women's clothing store on Kirkwood Ave., goes through similar seasonal changes. \nAmy Stewart, an employee at Pitaya, said business during the school year is pretty regular. \n"The warmer it is, the better business is, especially because of the location," Stewart said. "Sometimes we have non-stop customers on the weekend."\nThe amount of shoppers in Pitaya drops off quite a bit in the summer, partly because the clientele is students and sorority girls. \n"When Summer Session I starts, there are still students around," Stewart said. "But for the Second Summer Session, there's even more of a drop off."\nPitaya receives new clothing shipments on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, making the weekends the busiest days during the regular months. A key difference between summer and regular months is that weekends aren't as busy.\n"Weekends aren't as concentrated, and the weekdays become busier," Stewart said. "Also, employees who work within the area come and shop on their lunch breaks." \nThe variety in merchandise also changes in the summer. During the school year, Pitaya stocks more clothes for going out, whereas in the summer months, there are more jeans and stylish tops, Stewart said. To cope with the lack of students, Pitaya's owners stock less merchandise. \nPitaya employs five people in the summer, but eight to nine during the school year. Stewart said it's because people have more free time and want to spend it doing more enjoyable activities. \nAt the end of summer, Pitaya's customer base is more diverse. \n"Younger kids who come for cheerleading camps, new students for orientation, and a lot of out-of-towners are the customers we mostly see at the end of the summer," Stewart said. \nAnother downtown location, Anyetsang's Little Tibet, located on Fourth St., experiences the summer season in a different way. \nThupten Anyetsang co-owns this Tibetan restaurant with his wife Lhamo and suggests that the summer is not that bad. "Business doesn't change much," he said. "A lot of students leave, but many stay for Summer I and Summer II. Then we have more local people coming."\nAnyetsang keeps regular restaurant hours, and employs the same amount of people. Little Tibet, or "LT" as it's called by its patrons, has a loyal customer base of faculty, students and locals. \n"We have lots of foreign students from Pakistan, India, Korea and Thailand. They say it's just like their mom's cooking," said Anyetsang, gesturing around the restaurant. \nThe walls of Little Tibet are adorned with pictures of the Dalai Lama and scenic mountainous regions in Tibet. When fall semester starts, the restaurant gets busier with new customers. \n"The old students recommend to the new students to eat here," Anyetsang said with a smile.\nAnyetsang enjoys having students as his customers, and points out that he was a student at one point too.\nSummertime in Bloomington has its advantages, even though not as many students are here. Clothing stores and restaurants will be emptier, but that allows students here for the summer to experiment at new places they haven't tried yet and to relish Bloomington's charm.