Students may be anxiously counting down the days until summer break, but Starkville businesses may have another reason to be anxious.
 In the summer, the student population at Mississippi State University drops significantly, which impacts businesses that rely on student traffic.
According to the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, in 2011 the student enrollment for the summer was at 8,183, less than half the fall enrollment of 19,830 students.
Jeff Cavanugh, an international relations professor who teaches courses during summer, said the campus has a completely different atmosphere.
“Campus is nearly empty,” he said. “There’s still a good number of faculty and staff, but there’s far fewer students. It’s actually pretty nice and laid back. Not as much is open on campus, but it’s easy to get around, there’s no traffic and you can always find a parking place.”
Most businesses in Starkville have a strong student base that is deeply affected by MSU’s population. Once classes end, they have to enjoy the positive repercussions and handle the negatives as best they can, but each is affected differently.
Dave Hood, owner of Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern, said the Tavern seems to do well year-round.
“Our customer base is a bit older than the places on Main Street and in the Cotton District and our patrons generally call Starkville home,” Hood said. “There’s not much change in the atmosphere other than what everyone is wearing. We’ll continue having entertainment every night of the week.”
Nate Kneisly, owner of Halfway House, said last summer their sales dropped off only 15 percent.
“Our business is still fairly new; last summer was our first summer,” Kneisly said. “There was obviously a decrease in sales because the population in Starkville dropped so much, but we also have an older crowd of graduate students that don’t leave for the summer. So we still have that regular business.”
He said the patio also helps to draw people in because they like to come eat and drink outside during the summer.
Letty Stricklin, manager of Libby Story, said the pace around the stores slows down, but the staff find ways to keep busy.
“We still have some of the college girls that are in town shop with us,” Stricklin said. “We do events to get people in, and we keep busy doing a lot of crafts, making hangers and things. It doesn’t hurt us too much financially because there are still some people here, and all the traffic from football season definitely makes up for the slower pace.”
Jay Bradley, co-owner of Cowbells, said although they have to make cutbacks, he stills enjoys the changes the summer brings to their grill.
“We close Sunday, Monday and Tuesday during the summer just to keep our costs down, and sales drop off about 25 to 30 percent,” he said. “But it’s a nice breather before football season when we’re full-blown for a long time.”
Bradley said that is the time when they get to find out the most about their customers.
“I like the summertime because it’s almost like summer camp,” he said. “The customers we do have are really loyal; they come every week. We’re not so busy that we can’t visit with folks, so that’s really when we get to meet our customers, sit down with them and ask what they think of the place. We learn a lot in the summer.”
Paul Brasfield, manager of Bin 612, said it is important to have a good business mind and be ready for anything, when it comes to summer strategies.
“It can be hard to make it if you don’t know what you’re doing,” he said. “You really have to learn how to adapt and know your surroundings. You have to cut back on labor and ordering and do what you have to do to make it in the summer.”
Brasfield said he never knows exactly what to expect once school lets out.
“We’ve had great summers and we’ve had terrible summers,” he said. “You just have to cater to college students. We don’t know if a ton of people will be here or if they’re leaving; it could go either way. If you have to cut back, you do what you need to save the business.”
Rick Welch, owner of Rick’s Café, said he has also learned the importance of cutting back in the summer.
“We tone things back as far as entertainment,” he said. “We keep the sports bar open, but we only open the big room a few nights a week. We still have decent crowds, but it’s more laid back, and there’s more room.”
Welch said he takes that time to start laying out his fall calendars and talking to agents about bands to prepare for the next school year.
Bo Summerford, manager of Reed’s in Starkville, said the summer is still good to them.
“We do see a little decrease in sales, but it doesn’t necessarily affect us as much as other businesses in Starkville because we have such stable goods that we can sell all year-round, he said. “We also sell to a wide variety of ages, and Starkville natives are always in need of clothes.”