E
very fall millions of college students flood back to
their respective campuses to further their education,
but with the textbooks, football games and late-night
parties comes a window of opportunity to use college
students as a major source of revenue and, more importantly,
brand awareness for Buffalo Wild Wings® restaurateurs.
For the lucky locations that happen to be just a few miles
from a university, or in some cases just across the street, their
restaurant can become a feeding ground on game days or a
Friday night ritual for a small group of friends. Regardless of how
the different locations get students to walk through the door,
they all agree that operating in a college town is a whole new ball
game.
Just like how every student has a different college experi-
ence, not every BWW in a college town operates the same
way or reflects the same demographics. For the locations near
Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi,
college students make up roughly 40 percent of its customer base
when school is in session.
Travel northeast to New Haven, home to Yale University
and Gateway Community College, and the local B-Dubs® boasts
a customer base comprised of about one-third students. And at
Louisiana State University’s stomping ground in Baton Rouge,
approximately 60 percent of patrons are students.
By Christina Cannon
All locations see a mixture of profes-
sionals, students and families with young
children, but when school is in session, there
is a surge in the student population. While
a great migration of thousands of students
every fall might seem like a dream come true
for local business owners, it also presents one of the single largest
challenges to running a restaurant in a college town.
“The obvious challenge is the seasonality of the business,”
said Ray DeNardis, general manager for the Four M Capital
location near Yale. “Sales drop off strongly in the summer and at
the winter break. It’s both a sales and labor challenge.”
“Operating in a college town is very rewarding, but it also
comes with great difficulty,” echoed Cheryl Thomas, general
manager for the JK&T Wings location near Louisiana State
University. “Most of our employees are college students who
have various work availabilities, which could interfere with the
scheduling process. We have a high turnover rate since most of
the students leave when they graduate or switch schools. Having
employees that are pretty much just passing through makes it
hard to have employees that are team- and guest-focused.”
To combat this, JK&T Wings locations try to not focus
solely on college students but rather embrace the community
Continued on page 24
23
Anderson Management Group, through Learfield Sports Properties, is one of many official sponsors for the Montana State University
football program.