The median age of Potsdam’s population is 21.6 and the number of college students is significantly above the state average (Onboard Informatics). The median age of college towns in one 2000 study was 29.9, which is almost 10 years younger than in similarly sized cities (Gumprecht, 54.) Restaurants and food related businesses in Potsdam should cater to the lifestyles of college students and need to make themselves appealing to the student audience. Perhaps by being open later or offering delivery services, these restaurants can find more successful business from this audience, and benefit the community as a whole.
In this essay, I’ve chosen to explore the small business restaurants in Potsdam and disregard chain restaurants and on campus dining options. Although these are both valid options for students, offering convenient hours, low prices and in some cases delivery service, I want to focus on the businesses which are unique to Potsdam, and who’s success is most affected by students’ business. As a part of my research, I conducted a simple survey about dining habits among twenty SUNY Potsdam students, ten who live in various on campus housing arrangements, and ten who live off campus. Every student participant reported taking advantage of off campus dining options. 80% of students report eating off campus once a week or more. Therefore, knowing the students’ habits could help businesses improve their service and success.
Potsdam restaurants all have their own unique balance of factors which keeps them successfully in business. Many Potsdam restaurants have the same owners. Maxfield’s, Mamma Lucia’s and the Cactus Cantina all share an owner. Each restaurant offers a slightly different appeal, which brings in a profit for all of them. First Crush might hope to target homesick students by being the only place in Potsdam to serve Starbucks coffee, thus compensating for their slightly more expensive prices. Some restaurants really embrace the college crowd, such as The Bagelry, with its super casual atmosphere, inexpensive prices and late hours. Another restaurant with a similar atmosphere is Little Italy, the most popular off campus eating destination among my sampling of Potsdam students. However, unlike The Bagelry, Little Italy doesn’t deliver, and they recently changed their closing time to 10:00pm Monday through Wednesday. Sergi’s does deliver pizza and offer late hours, however my survey has found that the majority of students seem to strongly prefer Little Italy and don’t report visiting or ordering from Sergi’s anywhere near as frequently. Of the students surveyed, 75% reported that they frequently visit Little Italy as opposed to 25% who reported the same for Sergi’s. Therefore, I will explore how Little Italy could adapt to students’ needs.
Regardless of when we should be eating, many students find themselves looking for food after 10:00pm. Although Little Italy maintains its success, I’ve witnessed many disappointments this academic year when peers of mine have tried to go to or call Little Italy after a long day, only to realize that it’s closed. For example, while working on this essay I was sitting in a rehearsal which runs from 7:00-11:00pm. Afterwards a cast mate and I were going to get something to eat. Not believing me that they were closed, she called Little Italy, only to be disappointed at the cut in hours. Little Italy, and other popular restaurants, have late night hours on weekends, and students use them. However, during the week students are up just as late, studying, working, or procrastinating. Also, because Potsdam has such an active music school, along with active theater and dance programs, many students must attend late night rehearsals, concerts, or productions. It seems that having later hours during the week at places like Little Italy could be profitable.
Another disappointment about Little Italy is that it doesn’t deliver. Being such a popular pizza place, they seem like the perfect candidate for delivery service. I frequently see people picking up large orders for parties there. Because this is a college town, offering delivery would gain a restaurant many customers. From students who don’t own cars, as well as students who are hungry and may not be able to safely get themselves to their desired restaurant due to the time of night or possibly intoxication. From the business’ perspective, by offering delivery they could cut back on the number of belligerent students hanging around the restaurant late at night, potentially damaging things and disturbing other customers. On top of the basic advantages of offering delivery service in a college town, in Potsdam there is the added issue of the weather. I’ve noticed an increase in delivery cars from A#1 and The Bagelry waiting outside dorms and townhouses once the first snow hits. However, because of the weather, the availability of delivery from places which already offer it becomes unpredictable. The Bagelry and A#1 have both refused to deliver due to dangerous weather at times.
The weather in Potsdam may be motivation for some local restaurants not to offer delivery at all. Of course there is more of a demand for delivery when the temperature drops below zero and the roads are covered in ice, but is that extra profit worth the risk of sending an employee out in dangerous road conditions? Another reason restaurants might not offer delivery is because it may not be a profitable enough option to have when the weather isn’t as bad. A 2000 study in college towns showed that those living in college towns are four times more likely to walk and seven times more likely to commute by bicycle (Gumprecht, 55.) Students in my survey say they would go to a restaurant late, or order delivery all the time, but the truth is, business doesn’t seem to be strong enough for restaurants to put in the funds required to stay open later or pay for a delivery service. Little Italy used to be open later on Monday through Wednesday, so the cut back in hours implies that business just wasn’t profitable enough after 10:00pm early in the week.
Maybe there is a lack of communication between the students and local businesses. I never knew Little Italy’s hours of operation until this year when I tried to go and they were closed. Some students, like my cast mate, are still unaware of their change in hours. From my observations, it seems that students have a tendency to just guess which restaurants are open, accept Bear Express, or deliver. If there was more communication between local restaurants and students, maybe we could come up with a sort of unified schedule. In looking up the hours of local restaurants online, I found it was difficult to find hours for some restaurants, and others, like The Bagelry, don’t have hours or a menu available online. Also, looking at all of the hours of these restaurants, not one is open the same times all week.
Although part of the problem is students’ unawareness of business hours, students also have a tendency to exaggerate how often they would use these services. My survey results show, although all students report they would take advantage of delivery after 10:00pm, 70% also report the most convenient time for them to eat off campus is between 6:00-9:00pm. To build on my research, if a larger group of students could honestly assess how often they would actually take advantage of later hours or delivery service, it might be worth it for restaurants to stay open later, or invest in a delivery car. Perhaps Potsdam restaurants could offer seasonal hours or delivery during the academic year, or offer delivery service only during the winter or on the weekends. To address the weather safety issue, restaurants could have publicly available policies regarding what constitutes a severe enough weather situation to stop delivery. Then maybe local restaurants could be compiled into a list with menus, hours and delivery policies to be made easily available around campus, in print form and online. I believe that if students could find all that information in one place, they would be more likely to order or to go out late, because they would know they could.
As for members of the Potsdam community who aren’t students, I believe a lot of my argument pertains to them as well. Many Potsdam residents work at the universities and therefore share similar schedules to students. I believe many members of the community would be grateful for more convenience in local business. For example, look at the success of Walmart. When I’m at home I never shop at Walmart, but here, I find myself there at least once a week. Regardless of people’s opinions on the company itself, all kinds of community members are shopping there simply because we can’t get many of those products (or buy them after 10:00pm) anywhere else. The overwhelming majority of students surveyed reported doing their grocery shopping at Walmart. Because of the shared ownership of Potsdam businesses, offering later hours or delivery could benefit the town as a whole. Little Italy shares owners with Happy Daze and The Hookah House. If Little Italy began bringing in extra profits, the owners would have more of a profit overall, which could improve all the businesses owned by them and lead to more satisfied customers, thereby benefiting the entire community. The community might benefit if more restaurants in Potsdam delivered. There would be less risk of students on the road in bad weather conditions in which they are not accustomed to driving, or more dangerously, intoxicated students driving in a desperate attempt to find something to eat.
So yes, businesses in Potsdam do need to cater to the college demographic, but college students need to be more aware of and in communication with these businesses if we are going to have a more mutually beneficial relationship. If Potsdam restaurants and students could communicate better, and be more empathetic towards one another, we could create a better community for everyone.
Business Hours and Delivery:
The Bagelry
Delivers
Hours unavailable online
Little Italy:
Sunday Noon to 9:00pm
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10:30am to 10:00pm
Thursday, Friday,Saturday 10:30am to 3:00am
Only Pizza Served After 10:00pm
Can call in orders for pick up
Hours available online
A#1 Chinese
Mon-Thu-11:00am-10:30pm
Friday/Saturday-11:00am-11:00pm
Sunday-12:00pm-10:30pm
Offers delivery and pick up orders
Hours available online
First Crush
Mon/Tue-7:00am-2:00pm
Wed-Fri-7:00am-9:00pm
Sat-9:00am-9:00pm
Sun-Closed
Offers delivery between 11:00am-2:00pm, Hours available online
Scoopaccino’s
Sun-Thu-6:00am-9:00pm (hours vary depending on season)
Fri/Sat-6:00am-10:00pm
Offers drive thru pickup
Hours available online
Sergi’s
Mon/Tues-3:00pm-12:00am
Wed/Thu-11:00am-12:00am
Fri/Sat-11:00am-2:00am
Sun-11:00am to 12:00am
Delivery available, inaccurate hours available online
Works Cited
Gumprecht, Blake. "The American College Town." Geographical Review. 1st ed. Vol. 93. American Geographical Society. 51-80. JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2009.
"Potsdam, New York." City-data. 2003. Web. 15 Nov. 2009.
Works Consulted
Cardone, Kenneth. "Learning to Eat." New England Journal of Higher Education 24.1 (2009): 12-13. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2009.
Huntington, Derek. "The Hookah House opens in town". The Raquette 9-25-2009: 1-1.
Survey Results
-7 survey participants are male and 13 are female.
-Of those students who lived on campus, 7 live in a dorm while 3 live in a townhouse or suite/apartment.
-70% of students responded that it is most convenient for them to eat off campus between the hours of 6:00 and 9:00pm during the week, 40% reported after 9:00pm, 10% between 12:00-5:00pm and 10% don’t eat off campus during the week, no students found it most convenient to eat off campus before 12:00pm.
-75% of students do their grocery shopping at Walmart, 15% responded The Big M, while 1 student responded The Union Market and 1 responded P&C. No students reported grocery shopping at The Potsdam Food Co Op.
-50% of students would prefer having the option of late night delivery during the week, while the other 50% would prefer it on the weekend. No students reported that they would not use this convenience.
No comments:
Post a Comment