Published 2006-08-22T00:00:00Z”/>

Jennifer Donnell

As students pour back into Chico to start the school year, businesses big and small are bracing themselves for added traffic in their stores.

While some businesses are affected more than others by the absence of students, summer makes it very clear just how many of their patrons are here for school.

Although downtown businesses do not rely completely on students, the absence of these consumers makes an impact not only on sales but on employees’ paychecks as well.

Jennifer Windman, a sales associate at Trucker clothing store in downtown Chico, noted the effects of the lack of students during the summer.

“There are lots of days where our employees might be scheduled noon to 4 p.m. and leave at 2 because there is nothing to do,” Windman said. “It’s mostly Chico locals that shop here during the summer, and even they eventually go on vacation.”

At the beginning of the summer, the store had six employees. It has since doubled to prepare for the school year, Windman said.

Returning students will have a chance to take advantage of sales on items such as board shorts and swimsuits, which were marked down in July after most students had left Chico.

Even businesses that are in high traffic areas such as the Chico Mall rely greatly on patronage from students.

Bodie Partsch, manager of C&G Wireless in the Chico Mall, said business would suffer without students.

“We rely on the busy holiday months to give us a boost,” Partsch said. “It gets us through the summer when students are nearly extinct.”

The store often runs promotions at the end of August to attract students who are in town with their parents and need phones.

“It’s hard to imagine getting through the year without the student population,” Partsch said. “We really try to adapt to student needs.”

Some businesses fared better.

Budd Schwab, owner of Campus Bicycles, said his business is not as affected by the loss of students.

Schwab has owned the shop for 30 years. He said Campus Bicycles is less affected because of its seasonality, and slower business is more obvious in wet months such as November.

Katie Pennel is a cashier at the downtown restaurant Pluto’s. She considers summer to be business as usual, she said.

“We never fail to have a line to the door between noon and 2 p.m.,” Pennel said. “It’s still a busy restaurant with or without students. It just seems a little less constant without them.”

Jennifer Donnell can be reached at

<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>