Fayez AliAhmad column: Restaurants miss business of students

BY FAYEZ ALIAHMAD / VN STAFF WRITER

It’s been more than a year since the pandemic forced most students off the McNichols campus.

The transition to online schooling has allowed us to stay on schedule, but there are ripple effects that remain unseen to our eyes.

With students off campus, local businesses are missing an entire set of customers.

But not all are hurting. Some have made up for it with more carryout orders.

My first stop was Noni's Sherwood Grille along Livernois, about a mile from campus.

You can see a poster of the 2019-2020 women's basketball team as you walk in.

Not having students around has been challenging.

"Yes, it's definitely hurting the business,” said a staffer. “We still have carryout, but there's nothing like dine-in."

Next trip was Bucharest Grill, right next door, a popular place with students.

Despite not having dine-in available, they were so busy that I was asked to come back the next day.

Going to two other places in order to find a consensus, I couldn't.

A waitress at Nicky D's Coney Island, across from the university, said that both missing students and Covid-19 have made business slow.

Down the street, a worker at Gregg's Pizza & Bar-B-Que said the shop was still busy.

I grabbed a slice, which was amazing by the way, and headed home.

We should all come to the realization that no matter what businesses say, they are missing us. 

Waitresses miss out on tips due to dine-in no longer being an option. Some restaurants have to rely on regulars for business.

Covid-19 has made life tough on local businesses and the residents have done a good job of supporting them.

Although students cannot be blamed for their absence, if you ever find yourself near campus, try and stop into a local restaurant for a bite to eat. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.