New college year brings employees, customers to Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Thousands of students are back in Kalamazoo this week, filling the campuses of Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College.

Business owners and managers hope that translates to new customers and employees.

The opportunity of potential customers also means the challenge of adjusting schedules for student employees at several restaurants around Kalamazoo.

Sunday morning brought a slow start for HUB Tavern and Grill in downtown Kalamazoo. Assistant General Manager Taylor Martinez said the week has been fairly quiet.

“Pretty busy throughout the day but on eight or nine o’clock rolls around that’s when we start getting a little rush for the night. After this Labor Day holiday, I expect a lot more students in because with the holiday we get so many people going back out of town. With everybody coming back, we’re going to see that late night crowd a lot more,” Martinez said.

While final fall enrollment this year has yet to be released, last fall more than 17,550 students joined the Bronco community, according to Western Michigan University data .

Martinez said the start of a new semester also means some staff are having to switch their schedules or leaving all together. But there is help on the way.

“We did get a lot of applications in from students coming into town. Now the matter is to go through the process and hiring,” she said.

As summer turns to fall, Martinez said downtown events for the holidays also adds to the campus customer boost.

“Especially with the holidays too, with all the events that downtown like the tree lighting in Bronson park, we get lots of crowds,” she explained.

Martinez isn’t alone in hiring this fall. The assistant general manager at another restaurant downtown says he has received a hundred applications to review.

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