Iowa State's Winter Break Means Less Traffic for Many Campus Town Shops

Plenty of empty parking spaces and lots of crows roosting along Welch Avenue in the Campus Town area of Ames means one thing this time of year: winter break for students attending Iowa State University.

“The crows have moved in because there aren’t many people walking up and down the street. That, along with construction moving them out of their normal area, and they have become an eyesore,” said Kory Kehril, manager of Copy Works at 105 Welch Ave.

It’s not so much the crows in the trees, but what they leave on the sidewalk. Kehril has spent some time trying to clean away the bird droppings, but it’s hard to keep up with.

He noted how slow business has been since students went on break before Christmas. Copy Works, like other businesses in Campus Town, depends on student business during the school year, but know there will be a slump during winter break, which ends Jan. 9.

Dan Culhane, president and CEO of the , said with more than 30,000 students attending Iowa State, businesses know what the student cycles are and plan for them. “Most, if not all the businesses in Ames manage expectations because they know there will be a lull when the students are gone,” he said.

He said the eating and drinking establishments in Campus Town and on the west side of Ames would be the most affected.

Kory said that while some bars and restaurants close for a few weeks or days over winter break, Copy Works has enough regular business customers that it doesn’t change its hours during winter break.

“We’re known for being available 24-5, Sunday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, so we don’t want to change that, but business is pretty slow during break,” he said.

This week, signs could be seen posted on a number of businesses informing customers they would be closed through Jan. 1, or be reopening this week.

Hours and the number of workers are reduced during winter break just up the street at , 135 Welch Ave. Assistant Manager Chris Tomaras described the time as “really dead.”

“Our business slows down by half or more during the day, and is 90 percent less at night,” he said.

During break, Jimmy Johns closes at 11 p.m. Usually, the sandwich shop is open until 3 a.m. With classes resuming Jan. 9, the sandwich shop will go back to normal hours on Jan. 7, Tomaras said.

“Usually, we have nine people on staff at night. Now, we have three,” he added.

Christy Radach, owner of just down the street from Jimmy Johns, said that while there aren’t many students stopping into her eclectic jewelry and vintage shop, she has customers from other areas of Ames who stop by during winter break because they can find parking when the students aren’t around.

“For me, it really doesn’t make that much difference because the other people are coming in during that time. A lot of the locals know when the students are gone,” Radach said. “My biggest month this year was June, and there aren’t weren’t many students here then.”