Cape businesses adjust with Southeast students gone on break

School's out for the summer, and some businesses are feeling the heat after their large customer base, Southeast Missouri State University students, head home for a few months.

During the fall 2013 semester, the university had nearly 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled, which includes those enrolled in courses at the university's regional campuses in Sikeston, Malden, Kennett and Perryville, Missouri.

Of that 12,000, about 3,000 lived on campus, said university news bureau director Ann Hayes.

An economic impact study conducted by Southeast's Donald L. Harrison College of Business in 2011 found that the population of Southeast students spends an estimated $63.6 million in the city on everything from groceries and rent to car maintenance and prescription medication throughout a nine-month academic year.

A representative sample of the Southeast student population was chosen to participate in the study, and the expenditures do not include on-campus spending on items such as school supplies and room and board.

Chroe West, left, Jason French, Emily Plaisance and Kathryn Sellenriek talk on the patio Thursday night at The Library in downtown Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

Certain nights have shown slower business, said Jason Heeter, shift manager for Imo's Pizza, 1201 Broadway in Cape Girardeau. But, at the same time, more locals are "coming out of the woodwork," he said.

"It's not like we're overly busy, but you see different customers whenever students are out," he said Saturday afternoon.

Weeknights tend to be more popular with customers because of the restaurant's outdoor patio, Heeter said, which many restaurants do not offer.

It also helps the St. Louis-style pizza company has a loyal customer base, he added.

A larger effect the university's summer closing had on the business is its number of employees. Heeter said about five or six Southeast students employed at the restaurant left to go home for the summer.

To combat the loss, he said employees are hired, and those who stick around are usually "chomping at the bit for more hours, anyway."

Other businesses near the university hurt a bit more during the summer.

Ashley DeGonia, manager of Under the Sun tanning salon at 820 N. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau, said the salon sees a decrease in business when the university closes for the summer.

A majority of the salon's client base is Southeast students. Once they're gone, business slows down a lot, she said, going from about 150 tanners to 50 a day.

The salon's busiest time of year falls between February and May, when events such as prom and spring break bring in business.

To keep up revenue up while summer business slows, DeGonia said tanning lotions are marked down, and monthly specials and new yearly memberships are offered.

Alcoholic beverages is one of the top categories in which Southeast students spend their money. The study estimated students spend more than $1.3 million per school year on adult beverages.

Cathy Thompson has owned The Library, 10 S. Spanish St. in Cape Girardeau, for nearly five years.

When it comes to summer business, Thompson said the bar's amenities, including an outdoor volleyball court and patio, keep business steady.

"In the summertime, everyone wants to be outside," she said, adding that other businesses that do not have outside seating areas may see more of an adverse effect on business.

Thompson is planning to make improvements to the bar's outdoor patio that will be completed by mid-July, including patio shelter improvements with fans and chandeliers along with heating and cooling units, allowing it to be open almost year-round.

Many Southeast juniors and seniors stick around in Cape Girardeau for the summer, some because they want to keep the jobs they have secure, Thompson said.

"It really doesn't hurt us," she said of the lack of Southeast students in the city during the warmer months.

Summer sales may decrease from $13,000 to $15,000 a week down to $12,000 to $14,000, Thompson gave as an example, and the bar is staffed accordingly based on previous revenue numbers, thereby decreasing the number of bartenders working on a given night.

Overall, Thompson said Southeast students leaving for the summer affects her business only a little.

ashedd@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent addresses:

1201 Broadway, Cape Girardeau

820 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau

10 S. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau