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Businesses become influential when developing a college-town environment

Written by John Harden, The Shorthorn staff

Wednesday, 18 November 2009 03:18 PM

The term college town is a phrase used to describe an area impacted by a large university campus. However, the concept of a college town differs among many including universities, businesses and students. This story is one of three in a series running this week.

As the sun sets, a Denton hookah-lounge owner flips on the lights and lures UNT students in with the smells of flavored tobacco.

Businesses love to cater to students because, for some small businesses, they represent a big source of income, said Moe Zaki, KUSH Oxygen and Hookah Lounge owner.

“Students make up about 95 percent of my daily customers,” he said.

It’s all about creating an exciting environment for the students, he said.

Weekly live music, belly dancing and karaoke keep many students coming back, he said.

The laid-back UNT environment is captured inside the lounge, helping to secure students interest, Zaki said.

A major demographic in cities with large universities is students, said Sascha Guttfreund, a UT Austin corporate communication sophomore.

“It makes sense to cater to the students because for some businesses they‘re the main source of income,” he said.

Guttfreund works as a live-music promoter at Aces Lounge, a live-music venue, located on Austin’s Sixth Street.

Some small businesses in a college town rely on students for growth because students are a free-advertisement source, he said.

“If I go to a place that I really like, I’m going to post it online so others can check it out,” he said. “If I know about something, then through social networking you’re going to know about it.”

The University Pub doesn’t advertise much because it sits right across the street from Texas Christian University, owner Dave Mitchell said.

More than 95 percent of the pub’s customers are students, he said.

“We’ve been described as the students’ ‘Cheers’,” he said. “We have alumni who are 40 years old who come in regularly and revert back to 21-year-olds after a few drinks,” he said.

It’s the familiarity keeping students coming back, he said.

The pub has been around for 28 years and a standing tradition for TCU students.

“We’ve been around for a while,” Mitchell said. “It’s very flattering that students continue to come here. We don’t do anything special to attract them. We’re just a regular cliché bar, but they still seem to love us.”

For UTA students, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop has made its presence known by creating a place students can enjoy themselves, general manager Randy Day said.

The establishment of Fuzzy’s into downtown resulted from a City of Arlington effort to revitalize the area, said John Hall, administration and campus operations vice president.

The Downtown Arlington Management Corporation is working on bringing several businesses to the area, Hall said.

One of the businesses include the opening of the family-oriented restaurant Babe’s Chicken Dinner House in the spring.

“The City of Arlington approached us and informed us about the area,” Babe’s Chicken co-owner Paul Vinyard said. “We’re known for our low prices, and we work really hard to keep them low.”

Keeping prices low is one way to market to college students, who flock toward the cheapest prices, he said.

“UTA is a large university with a big student body and some of those students are our potential customers,” he said.

It’s important for business owners to understand how they influence a college community, Hall said.

“You don’t necessarily have a college town because you have football. You can create a college town just by the type of businesses you build,” he said. “A college town is more about the environment.”