Although almost half of the Ames population is leaving town for winter break, area business personnel said they are not overly concerned about it hurting business.

“It does affect us a little bit,” said Mike Ireland, an executive at Target, 320 S. Duff. “But fortunately for us, we have basketball and football, so people stay and this helps us.”

He said the stores prepare in advance for the flood of students out of Ames.

“We know that things are going to happen, such as breaks, so we take action to prepare for them,” Ireland said.

He said many Ames businesses have clientele from small towns in the area.

“We draw business from all over, not just from the Ames population,” said Brad Hurd, assistant manager at K-mart, 1405 Buckeye Ave. “We are affected during the spring and summer when students leave, but not so much during the Christmas break.”

Although the student population boosts numbers at Ames bars, business is not expected to suffer dramatically.

“There is a significant drop of business during the business hours,” said Jim Moran, general manager of People’s Bar & Grill, 2430 Lincoln Way.

However, he said the people who stay in Ames soften the blow for business.

“But there are a lot of people originally from Ames that help with the slack.”

Moran said it is nice to have a break from always being busy.

“It gives us time to close down during the day and get things done like maintenance projects,” he said.

He said the establishment is planning to work on the floors and bathrooms over the holiday break.

Mike Adams, manager of Welch Avenue Station, 207 Welch Ave., said students affect the bar’s business when they leave.

“Weekday night business goes up slightly, and our weekend business goes down,” Adams said. “A lot of our customers that do not go home during breaks go out more during the week.”

Larry Wong, kitchen manager at Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill, 105 Chestnut St., said business is slower during this time of the year.

“I imagine business will slow down over break,” he said. “It slowed down over Thanksgiving break.”

Wong said the restaurant is the busiest during the fall, and the athletic events contribute to an increase in business.

Al Warren, manager at Great Plains Sauce & Dough Co., 129 Main St., said business is not affected when students leave town.

However, he said business does slow down when students are gone for spring break.

“We have local people who go out more when students are out of town,” he said. “We are busier or just as busy when students are gone.”