Winter break may be great for students but some local businesses are hurt by the winter months.

Troy Roland, assistant manager at Toppers, 1015 E. Lincoln Highway, said he definitely sees a difference in his business during the winter.

“Things are slow because we are receiving less business during the winter break,” Roland said. “Students make up about 60 percent of our business.”

Roland also finds the economy to be another factor hurting Toppers.

“The way the economy has been, it’s bad as it is,” Roland said. “And it’s hard what to expect later on.”

Beth Cottrell, manager at Shelley’s, 901 Lucinda Ave., said she closes down for about a month over winter break.

“We will be closing Dec. 19 and won’t be re-opening until Jan. 12,” Cottrell said. “We do this as a response to students leaving for winter break because of it being slow.”

Assistant economics professor Carl Campbell said students help generate business for places in DeKalb.

“When students are around in DeKalb, they are spending money toward restaurants and stores helping them out,” Campbell said. “When they go home for winter break, less money is being spent, hurting these businesses.”

Campbell said staying open during winter break does not make sense financially.

“It costs them more to be open when they are receiving less business than usual,” he said. “So it makes perfect sense for some local businesses to close during break.”

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