Lack of ASU students affecting downtown business

Multimedia package by Dave Anderson, Tracy Marcello and Lisa Shapiro

No wait for a table.  No line at Starbucks.  No traffic downtown.  

For some Phoenix residents this may seem like heaven, but to local businesses that depend on student customers this is the empty pit of summer.

According to AZCentral.com, 10,000 students attended the downtown Phoenix campus of Arizona State University last fall.  That’s 10,000 potential customers for the likes of Café Roma Pizzeria and AMC Theater in the Arizona Center Mall who disappear after that last final exam in May.

Small businesses, however, have found a variety of ways to adapt to the summer slowdown.

Some businesses like Taylor Marketplace and Devil’s Greens simply close for the summer.  Others like Starbucks focus their marketing on the local business community while they wait for students to return in August.

“Starbucks has two summer promotions that they do that generate awareness of new drinks and promotions,” said Melody Mitchell, manager at the Taylor Place Starbucks.

But Mitchell points out that there is a huge difference in the Taylor Place store’s revenue during the summer when classes are not in session.

Businesses like Café Roma Pizzeria in the Arizona Center can take advantage of convention customers and local residents during the summer months due to their prime location near the convention center and major hotels, said Josh Sullivan, manager.    

“There are a lot of people going to see movies in the summertime,” Sullivan said. “So we get a lot of business from AMC.”

Students who stay here over the summer notice a big difference in activity during the summer.  Philip Piro-Ameriene, a first-year ASU student, moved to downtown Phoenix about a month ago.  He noticed a big difference in the city from when he visited during the school year.  It is “a down energy, but a calm energy,” he said.

The summer slowdown presents challenges to small businesses, but many have found ways to adapt as they wait for the August student invasion to return.  Residents like Piro-Ameriene simply resign themselves to enjoying the calm setting of  the city during the summer.

“It’s nice and peaceful,” Piro-Ameriene said.  “You can always find a table.”

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Marcus Boykin, a sales associate at the Sun Devil Campus Store in downtown Phoenix, said his biggest seller during summer months is water.  (Photo by Tracy Marcello)

Several restaurant managers in downtown Phoenix's Arizona Center struggle to fill tables during mid-day lunch hours once students leave for summer break. (Photo by Tracy Marcello)