How Local Restaurants Feel About East Students

When going to a restaurant during the lunch rush of East, many places are full or have a line. Having all those people in line to eat at a restaurant seems beneficial to the business on the outside and seems like a great way to earn money right? But how big of an impact do students really make on these businesses? Is lunch rush something these businesses want or even need? 

When thinking of these restaurants, their location right next to East High School seems like a beneficial place to earn good money and let the business thrive. But after talking to an employee at Mrs. Molly's Bakery (located on Colfax) that didn't seem to be the case. 

Mrs. Molly’s Employee: “I will honestly tell you I thought the revenue from East students would be higher than it ended up being. If they were banned from going off campus it would have an impact on revenue, but it's not like we’d shut our doors because we, unlike the pizza place, don't fully rely on students.” 

The bakery said that only about 5% of income comes from the students at East High, and believes it would be much higher if all the students who sat in the restaurant actually ordered a meal instead of bringing a lunch from somewhere else. Mrs. Molly’s Employee: “I think there's a few things that are disrespectful and one of those things is bringing in outside food or when a large group comes in but only one person will order a small drink or a cookie and then then the other people in the group will pull out their lunch from somewhere else and sit their” Overall the impact of East students on Mrs. Molly's bakery has the potential to be much higher if all the students who sat there ate the bakery's food. Mrs. Molly’s estimated about 60 students coming in every day during the lunch rush but said only about 24 would actually order a full meal. 

When interviewing Jimmy Johns it seemed to be a different story. Even though each restaurant estimated that about 60 students came in each day during lunch rush, Jimmy John’s seems to be more impacted by the students Jimmy John’s Employee: “They always pick up after themselves, when they move the chairs they put them back” The restaurant claimed to have 10% of their income come from East and that they make $600-1000 dollars every lunch rush. So why does Jimmy John’s rely so much more on the students? After talking to some students the reasoning seemed to be similar. 10th grader Sylvie Densen says “I would personally do Jimmy Johns just because Mrs. Mollys is a bakery and like if I forgot my lunch I would rather get a sandwich over a cookie.” 

East students are appreciated among these businesses especially when it comes to cleaning up after themselves. Students have the potential to make a big impact on businesses around Colfax and the east campus during lunch. Jimmy John’s employee: “They’re respectful and should be proud of themselves.” By continuing to clean up after themselves and supporting these restaurants, students can maintain a healthy relationship with these businesses.