As the old adage goes, the captain stays with the ship. For local business owners, that ship is Athens, and it became quite lonesome during winter break.
Debby Fulks was the only one on shift at Court Street Coffee one morning. She waited for a customer to brave the cold weather for a cup of coffee while counting the days left until school started.
But Fulks is not a student; she is the owner of Court Street Coffee.
Business owners in Athens’ Uptown area have been telling a similar story about dealing with the realities of losing most of their customer and employee bases during Ohio University’s four-week winter break.
“When you go from seeing almost 500 people every day to seeing 35, you have to cut down on some things,” Fulks said. “It’s hard when you’re on campus and your customer base is gone.”
The Court Street Diner is adapting to the coming and going of students by being more accommodating to Athens residents, said Manager Greg Cunningham.
“We were not busy (between Christmas and New Years); we were just below average from what a normal day is for us,” said Cunningham. “We are getting more locals in the diner than students, so we aren’t completely relying on students.”
Court Street Diner, which usually has 20 employees on shift at a time, was down to five employees during much of the break, Cunningham said.
“New Year’s Day, which is usually one of our biggest days, we were closed because we didn’t think students were going to be there with the new semester system,” Cunningham said. “It gets a little stressful and the days get a little long, but we get through it.”
Despite the extra cost of staying open, Mehgan Yunker, an employee at Big Mama’s Burritos, said staying open can provide a leg-up on the competition.
“We stayed open and it worked out fine because we got all of the other businesses’ business,” Yunker said.
The decision to stay open for some was an economic one; for others it was because of a business philosophy.
“We didn’t close down because that’s just not what we do,” said Amy Hall of College Bookstore.
The store also generates money from the alumni who come back during the break and visit the store, Hall added.
Twilight Boutique suffered from having the majority of its client base — OU students — away, and decided to close when business was slow, said employee Tim Murakami, an Athens resident.
“It kind of depended (on the day),” said Murakami. “We were busy during Christmas, but it was slower than average with the students gone.”
Despite the hardships winter break can bring for Uptown businesses, Fulks said she was thankful the break was two weeks shorter than on the semester system.
“This was all new,” Fulks said. “The break being shorter benefited everyone.”
ld11710@ohiou.edu
