When thousands of ISU students leave Ames for the summer, Campustown businesses are hit especially hard by the loss of revenue.

But this summer, like past summers, Welch Avenue businesses have to adapt to the change.

John Crawford, manager of Copyworks, 105 Welch Ave., said student business drops off, but the lighter traffic in Campustown attracts customers from other parts of Ames.

Crawford said summer works out well for businesses because although there is a drop in sales, many student employees at Copyworks leave for the summer or graduate.

Crawford said the students who stay for the summer can usually work extra hours.

Other Welch Avenue business owners have similar feelings.

“We still have a lot of students that stayed for summer school,” said Chris Bennett, assistant manager of McDonald’s, 217 Welch Ave.

Bennett said summer really affects their business with a 40 percent drop in sales this summer.

Marie Reed, managing owner of Stomping Grounds, 303 Welch Ave., said the summer actually helps business because of the coffee shop’s patio.

“People enjoy sitting outside, so it’s a plus for us,” she said.

“We do live music on the patio during the summer. It brings people that don’t come during the winter.”

Night is the slowest time during the summer for McDonald’s, Bennett said.

While some businesses opt to shorten hours during the summer, Reed said Stomping Grounds maintains the same hours it has during the rest of the year.

For instance, Santa Fe Espresso, 116 Welch Ave., closes at 10 p.m. during the summer, whereas during the year the shop is sometimes open until 2 a.m.

The summer did not leave McDonald’s with a shortage of workers, Bennett said, and most students who leave for the summer are rehired in the fall.

Reed said Stomping Grounds usually loses some employees at the end of the spring semester, but she hires more at that time to compensate.

Rick Lippard, owner of Archie’s Goodyear Shoe Repair, 107 Welch Ave., said he thinks restaurants and bars experience the highs and lows more than retail businesses.

“I don’t think I could handle that,” he said.

Lippard said he’s noticed a decline in shoe sales during the summer, “but we even it out with repairs.”

This is because retail shoe sales are targeted at students, while repairs generally cater to older customers, he said.

The slower pace of summer also gives business owners a chance to catch their breath.

Crawford said the summer is an opportunity to do housekeeping.

Reed said while summer brings a decrease in students, most faculty members stay in Ames.

“Our biggest customers are professors and people that work on campus,” she said. “At night we have more students that come in.”