The City of East Lansing touts a population of approximately 48,579 according to the latest US Census taken in 2010 but the number artificially inflates to just shy of 100,000 during the months of September until May. And for local mainstay East Lansing businesses and fixtures the influx of students isn’t necessarily the determining factor.

And perhaps the thought that businesses rely heavily on students for business, is more rumor than axiom.

“I’ve actually had, honest to God, people ask me if we were open during the summer,” Mike Wylie, Assistant Manager at Student Book Store said.

Wafting through the summer months doesn’t mean the cash drawers are dry or that as employees as Wylie puts it “sit around and twiddle our thumbs.” The businesses that have survived the East Lansing summers, known for taking businesses under and keeping them from re-emerging, have at least one thing in common outside of longevity; they understand the market.

“I think sometimes people misunderstand the audience down here,” Wylie said. “What may work in some other town won’t always work here.”

But what seems to work here at least in the eyes of SBS is the grassroots outreach or marketing 101. The community drives the business and the store has taken advantage of its spot on Grand River. Often times it is outreach which drives sales, and SBS has taken to finding a niche of customers throughout year.

With various events in East Lansing, including the just past Art Festival and the upcoming Great Lakes Folk Festival, businesses have more than enough opportunity to pounce on revenue. And even when not taking part in community outreach, the store is preparing nearly everyday for the fall.

Though the short influx of people pales to the student population, it’s not always about changing the game plan to hustle through the summer.

“We’re adult oriented,” Braxton Newman, controller at El Azteco said. “I mean when the kids are around they come here and drink margaritas but when the kids leave that’s when the adults come back and take over their town.”

For El Azteco, the Mexican joint on Albert Avenue smudged in between M.A.C. and Ann Street, it’s the summer that actually carries the business. Though the sign out front bears the unmistakable help wanted, the colorful neon lighted interior of the building, rooftop patio — the only one of its kind in East Lansing — and food draws the desire of the locals.

“We don’t have to do much other than open this,” Newman said of the rooftop patio which boasts a bar of approximately 100 different brands of tequilas and new furniture. Furthermore the atmosphere in the place is another selling point.

Newman cited the lack of TVs on the rooftop and open atmosphere as reasons for the flow of patrons in the summer.

We’ve created a “spring break atmosphere,” Newman said. “We get much busier because of this and that’s we need to do, open the roof.”

Just a short walk from the tropic feel at El Azteco, one of two downtown East Lansing churches, St. John’s, however does feel a dip in the amount of the faithful who sit in the pews on Sundays.

“It is more quiet but we do get students in here for AOP,” Denise Zakerski, Parish Secretary said; later adding that students still on and around campus for classes attend mass.

St. John’ caters to the student community with five mass times on Sundays and mass times during the week. But with students home for the summer, the church put 5 p.m. Sunday mass and evening masses on Tuesday and Thursday on hiatus until students return in full force in September.

Primarily a parish setup for the students the church offers a myriad of ways for students to grow in their faith but when the students are gone the church finds other ways to stay busy during the week as it will host scores of weddings throughout the year with the majority of them taking place in the summer.

The St. John’s congregation is part of the St. Thomas Aquinas parish and in conjunction with St. Thomas, it will host 5 weddings on July 23rd between the two and the MSU Alumni Chapel.

Food, fanaticism, and faith all have their niche markets in East Lansing regardless of student population and even the fact business has its ways to survive.

Collegeville Textbook Company, owned and operated by four people — three who are MSU alumni, has been servicing MSU students with their textbook needs since 2009 and like SBS, it knows how to survive the summer.

AOP for the incoming students is a big draw for Collegeville and the events surrounding/put on by MSU help Collegeville sell apparel. Mainly a dealer in textbooks the summer months give it the opportunity to showcase its skin in the apparel game.

But even doing that, Collegeville is still susceptible to the lull of the summer.

“Other than that it’s pretty quiet,” co-owner Tom Muth said. “We have shortened hours; open a little later close a little earlier.”

But as is the theme for the established East Lansing businesses, it’s about prep and knowing the market.

“We know what to expect so we plan for it throughout the year,” Muth said. “You gotta know summer.”