College students coming back to school leaves impact on downtown businesses

Some small businesses in downtown Johnson City are seeing the impact of students being back in college. With East Tennessee University and Milligan University now back in full swing, downtown is beginning to bustle as the college crowd traverses the sidewalks. Kevin Sommers, owner of the retail clothing store Some Apparel, has been one of the frequent stops for the college demographic. "The summer months have been slow, like it was kinda randomly slow once school started for local elementary and middle school," he said. "Then college started back, and the foot traffic picked up immediately." Sommers said, originally, reaching college students with his business was something he struggled with, opening his business last summer. However, after continually growing his business and being part of ETSU's Advance Appalachia initiative, he said his sales and recognition with university-goers has increased. He has also set up at the campus to help market his shop, which has helped bring in more shoppers. "Being an alumni from [ETSU], making the good connections that I've made, getting selected for this Advance Appalachia program — it's allowed me to talk to more people, literally on campus and in person," Sommers said. "It just kind of spreads, so that's the grassroots feel to it." Sommers also said the influx of college students has helped increase his business's revenue, getting an estimated 10 to 15% increase after the slower summer months. He added the college crowd is making its impact in the overall downtown scene. "For me, it's visually pleasing because you see people walking downtown," he said. "Our downtown is beautiful, and it's getting literally better by the day… You see that younger demo that are obviously students carrying their backpacks or heading somewhere with their laptop walking downtown. That's cool for me, it makes me feel like I'm part of something that's thriving and alive." The Moon Coffee and Tea House is another frequented business by college students. Owner Brett Dial said seeing the influx of people walking through the doors has been extremely obvious since ETSU and Milligan have welcomed students back. "Our busiest months are when the students come back to town," Dial said. "The whole entire city seems to change a little bit when the students come back to town as far as there being so many more people here." Unlike Sommers, Dial said last month was one of the busiest times for his coffee shop, and, with the students back, business hasn't slowed. He added having a larger space for the college demographic to come in and use for their studies has also helped in gaining customers, with the location double the size of The Moon's previous spot on East Main Street. "We're busier when students are here because if I look at last year's sales, our busiest times are when students are in town," he said. "But, we were in a smaller coffee shop. This year, we have more space for people to come in, so we are busier than last year when all the students were in town." Similarly to Sommers, Dial said the amount of college students walking downtown helps make the district more lively. "It feels like there is a lot of excitement when the students come back in town," Dial said. "College is an exciting time and it's fun when the students are back in town." College students also pop into The Generalist, which is co-owned by Lora Eshbach. Eshbach said having university students walk through the doors helped her sales, which dropped in August, gain a 5% increase. "Typically, we'll see a little dip in the beginning of August, [but] once the schools are back and we'll usually see a good pop, especially the first week the [college students] come back," Eshbach said. Alongside the small boost of revenue, Eshbach said The Generalist typically sells more clothes when the college semester starts. She also said she's noticed more younger people traveling the streets and visiting businesses throughout the district. "Students want to go out together, so if they're not studying, they're going out with their friends," she said. "People come in from all over and reunite, so you see people in groups more often rather than just individual shoppers, and that's really exciting to see." Eshbach said seeing students enjoying the district and the businesses within it shows the benefit of being in a college town and how well the college demographic connects with the business owners to keep returning as customers. "We get to meet these people and get to know them, and it's not just one transaction," she said. "With the student population you have more than just that one interaction with, and that's really special. I love being in a college town – I think it's really special part and it helps our businesses tremendously."