Social work sophomore Shauna Brege sits and waits for a customer at Flats Grille, 551 E. Grand River Ave. After students depart for winter break, Flats Grille will have a smaller staff.
When Sarah Munkacsy opened Bronze Bay Tanning in December 2003, she had no idea about the difficulties in store for her business in the coming weeks.
“It was tough, we had a lot of competition,” Munkacsy said of the first winter break after she opened. “We were new to the business, we had to try to figure out what was best for marketing.”
Bronze Bay Tanning, 109 E. Grand River Ave., relies on students for most of its business.
So when the winter break hits, it hits hard.
“It’s like a desert town,” Munkacsy said. “We go from 300-some tanners a day to 25, maybe.”
Munkacsy said her business sees its highest volume of customers from January to April, but even for places that are busy year-round, the break can be tough financially.
“I kind of prepare for it all year long,” said Paul O’Connor, owner of Flats Grille, 551 E. Grand River Ave.
O’Connor said he has dealt with the problem since Flat’s opened in 1998 by purchasing less food and managing overall costs.
“We were so busy all of the time,” he said. “Then it wasn’t.”
Still, O’Connor said both customers and workers at his restaurant enjoy the break.
“Everybody’s happy about it,” he said. “The student employees that do stay want to work and make money, and the students that stay are glad we’re open.”
Bell’s Greek Pizza, which has two locations near campus, leans on their delivery service over the break, although students in the dorms represent about 30 percent of their business.
“We have a pretty solid residential base,” said Bob Beagan, manager at Bell’s Greek Pizza, 225 M.A.C. Ave. “The worse the weather gets, the more people get delivery.”
Beagan said that Bell’s tends to average more customers during the summer break, due to walk-in customers and the bar rush from The Riviera Cafe Restaurant and Lounge, which is located next door to their M.A.C. Avenue location.
“(During winter break), our bar rush is pretty much over,” Beagan said.
For local jewelry stores, the break means more business when students leave campus.
“We do some business with students,” said Gary Geisen, owner of Leon G Jewelers, 319 E. Grand River Ave. “A lot of times my customers wait until students leave to do their shopping.”
Bill Yonkus, owner of Sundance Jewelry, 201 E. Grand River Ave., said his customers prefer the more relaxed downtown environment near Christmas.
“A lot of people like it at that time,” Yonkus said. “My customers particularly like it. Restaurants aren’t as crowded, they get waited on quickly. Parking is the best at that time of the year.”
Tom Bramson, operations manager of The Riviera Cafe Restaurant and Lounge, 231 M.A.C. Ave., said the break never really hits his business.
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“The Riv has built a great base of clientele over the years,” Bramson said. “The group that stays in town whoops it up good for the week after finals.”
He said the only time he expects business to slow down is the weekend before Christmas, which will allow him some time to make some repairs.
Bramson, who also runs Rick’s American Cafe, Harrison Roadhouse, Beggar’s Banquet Restaurant and Saloon and The Nuthouse Sports Grill said the break also features New Year’s Eve, which sells out every year.
“There’s still a lot going on in East Lansing even though some of the students are gone,” Bramson said.
