COLLEGE TOWN, FL — As tens of thousands of FSU and FAMU students leave for the summer, College Town businesses in Tallahassee are rethinking operations and getting creative to survive the seasonal slowdown.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
As the spring semester comes to an end, businesses in College Town are entering one of their biggest transitions of the year, and owners are already preparing for a quiet summer.
Keith Bowers, Director of the Office of Economic Vitality, says taxable sales during the summer months typically go down 4% overall.
"On the seasonality of it, you know, college students move out, restaurant sales decrease, bar activities decrease. We don't see a lot of tourism typically during the summer months. But it usually starts to decline around May, and then we start to see a slight uptick in August, and then in September things are, you know, back to normal," Bowers said.
About 44,000 students were enrolled at Florida State during the 2025 spring semester. Over the summer, enrollment dropped to 26,000 — almost 20,000 fewer students.
FAMU's Spring 2025 enrollment was around 9,000 students, with just 4,000 attending over the summer, a decline of more than 50%.
Just days after graduation, the change in College Town is already noticeable.
Bowers says the slower season presents an opportunity for local businesses.
"I think it is also a good time for those businesses to reset take a look at, maybe, thinking of more ways to operate more efficiently," Bowers said.
Nathan Russell, the owner of Patchwork Coffee at Ruge Hall on FSU's campus, is already putting that idea into practice. He is trying out new ways to bring in business during the summer months.
"Ways that we can stay open. We're planning on doing a lot of events like the Mother's Day event we have this Saturday, with like a live DJ. We have a cookie vendor coming out, pancakes, all these fun, different things. As well as, we're starting a coffee cart this summer, so if we don't have the opportunity for you to come to us, we hope that we can come to you in a future event," Russell said.
Business owners say adapting during the summer months has become part of operating in a college town, as many now turn to events, promotions, and new ideas to help bridge the gap until students return in the fall.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
