MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WBOY) — With the 2023 spring semester complete at West Virginia University, the majority of students have left Morgantown for the summer, leading many local businesses to adjust to the drop-off in customers.

As 53.89% of WVU students come from out of state, local High Street businesses have noticed the climb in their revenue when semesters are in session, but not so much during the summer season.

One of these local businesses is a coffee shop called ‘The Grind’, where students frequently study, eat and buy coffee before and after classes.  

A barista for The Grind, Maryelizabeth Koepele, said “Usually the lobby is filled, and we also close at four during the school year, just to accommodate all the business during the summer. As you can see it’s a lot more mellow, much calmer atmosphere, there’s not really a line, and we do close an hour earlier.”

Stephanie Swaim, owner of the Hoot and Howl says that the locals of the Morgantown community tend to be more proactive during this period to make up for the lack of the usual average of consumers.

“A lot of people think that downtown is mainly catered towards the students, but our main demographic in customers is our local folks. So, you know, we have a percentage of people that shop here that are in our inner city all the time,” Swaim said.

These businesses take more of an opportunity to interact and build a bond with the residents in the area.

While these businesses make the adjustment to life without students, they thankfully won’t have to do it for long. Students will begin to return to Morgantown in just two and a half months for WVU’s Fall 2023 semester which starts on August 17.