Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Daily Email Edition

Get MN Daily NEWS delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Student travel leaves business in the cold

With the current economic crisis, a month with significantly fewer student sales is likely to hurt some local businesses. Despite most of the clientele leaving the area, shops around the University of Minnesota continue to offer their services but are losing money along the way. Gold Country in Dinkytown has already seen a slowdown because of the economy, Manager Mike Kendall said. âÄúIt has an effect on any retailer. Everybody is a little bit slower than what they have been,âÄù Kendall said. The store normally sees lower sales during the holidays, but Gopher sporting events help keep people coming in during the break, he said. While Christmas normally increases sales, Kendall said students normally shop in Gold Country right before they head home. The Library Bar in Dinkytown normally loses some money over break, and General Manager David Toby said they could lose as much as 20 percent of their sales over the course of the month. Toby said 10 of the 12 servers from The Library want to leave for three weeks and he plans on hiring people for the month who could eventually become full-time staff. Although some people are more fortunate, Toby said he knows some people affected by the economy may be looking to pick up a little money. âÄúThereâÄôs plenty of other people that need to make some more cash and around the holiday season can be a good time to do that,âÄù he said. While sales go down, Toby said The Library still brings in business from college football bowl games and New YearâÄôs celebrations. âÄúYou see a little bit of a change in the crowd, but you also see the off nights picking up because people donâÄôt have class the next day,âÄù he said. âÄúWhere it might go down in some areas, it goes up in others.âÄù Across town, new haircut shop Sport Clips hasnâÄôt been performing as well as Manager Jackie Adkins said she had hoped, and she does not expect sales to increase at all over break. Sport Clips, which opened in Stadium Village on Sept. 5, offers hair cuts for men only. âÄúItâÄôs just one of those things that youâÄôre going to find out this year how to deal with next year,âÄù Adkins said. Sophomore Neil Truckenbrod said heâÄôs planning on staying at the University over break because thereâÄôs more to do around campus than at home. âÄúI would just be stuck in the âÄôburbs kind of sitting at my house versus being able to take buses wherever I want,âÄù he said. Although some students, like Truckenbrod, will stay on campus, businesses will still lose money during the slow period. âÄúItâÄôs going to drop a little bit, but you hope to pick it up in some other areas,âÄù Toby said. âÄúIt hurts more around campus than it does around town.âÄù

Leave a Comment

Accessibility Toolbar

Comments (0)

All The Minnesota Daily Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *