While the retail business never stops, school does. Some business are affected by summer vacation more than others, and as Frank Salerno explains, those effects are prominent on one of Syracuse’s most famous streets.
Frank Salerno: A block off of Syracuse University’s campus sits one of the city of Syracuse’s largest business hot spots: Marshall Street. But, summer is coming, and students are leaving. With no students around, many parents will not visit either, and the retail stores located on Marshall street prepare to lose a large portion of their customers.
Summers are hard for stores like J Michael Shoes. Erik Hicks, the owner of the shop, says a lot of time goes in to planning ahead for the summer drought.
Erik Hicks: Once the students leave the business drops drastically, we just try to plan our inventory. Like if you’re a regular customer, a student customer, and you looked around the store right now you probably don’t have the selection you would like September or October. We do our best to just plan keep our inventory levels low. And payroll we try to cut down too.
Salerno: This sentiment doesn’t translate all the way down Marshall street. About 5 doors down, Manny’s quality SU clothing, and manager Bill Nester, embrace the summer storm of college hopefuls looking to get new SU apparel.
Bill Nester: Well, you know the summers really aren’t that bad, not as bad as people think. Once high schools start letting out for the summer vacation period we get a lot of people looking the school over or just family vacations in Syracuse or going through Syracuse and they usually stop by.
Salerno: It’s a tale of two stores, and two clothing styles. SU apperal sales stay consistent, while J Michael’s products dip in sales. But the summer works similarly for both shops in terms of employment.
With students gone, the summer would seem to be the time for local Syracuse residents to take those jobs, but these store managers are not quick to hand out short term positions.
Nester: If they’re going to be employed here in the summertime we also like them here in the fall too, because they get to know the store, they know a few things, how to run the register, and then we go right into football season.
Salerno: Businesses are even hesitant to hire local students in the summer who live near close by.
Hicks: Students who are local, yes we do hire them just for breaks and summers but I prefer to hire someone who is going to be here all year long if I was going to hire someone local.
Salerno: Whether with customers or not, the shops of Marshall street always stay busy. When sales are low, racking shelves and preparing for the football season blitz becomes the priority.
Nester: We actually get a lot of our inventory in for Fall starting in June so we are always busy doing something, even if we’re not doing, ringing the register lets call it.
Salerno: So if you’re in Syracuse this summer, head to Marshall street to find Erik Hicks, Bill Nester, and all of the retail employees hard at work, and on the clock. Frank Salerno, NCC News.
