Downtown Ames is home to numerous stores, restaurants and other services, but as time goes by, fewer students are discovering the area.

When the drinking age rose from 18 to 21, downtown Ames became virtually unknown to college students, said Gordon Meyer, an owner and manager of Great Plains Sauce and Dough Company, 129 Main St.

“About four bars used to attract college students, but when the age changed, they quit,” Meyer said.

Although downtown Ames must compete for student business with both North Grand Mall and Campustown, most store owners said they do not find this to be a problem.

“You have to keep in mind that college students are only here eight months out of the year,” Meyer said, “and they generally don’t have a lot of money.”

Scott Andresen, manager of Disc Go Round, 526 Main St., has found that the low cost of the store’s CDs draws college students despite the downtown location.

“Our location would be better for students if we were in Campustown, but then we would lose out on Ames residents,” he said. “We get everyone from those 13-year-old skater punks to 45-year-old residents.”

Kate Schmidtlein, sophomore in elementary education, said she has never shopped downtown.

“I was unaware that there were even shops downtown,” Schmidtlein said.

Schmidtlein said she felt most college students, including herself, shop at North Grand Mall.

“The mall caters to college kids; they have student discounts,” Schmidtlein said.

Although the mall receives a great deal of business from college students, John Pretzer, manager of Brown-Shoe Fit, 323 Main Street, said he is seeing more and more college students in his store.

“The students will go where they can find the product they want,” Pretzer said.