DAVIS, Calif. — July and August are always a little slower for Davis businesses, even when summer classes usually keep some of the UC Davis student body in town. This year with the coronavirus pandemic adding strain to businesses already, remote classes this summer further reduced the student population living in town.
Some local businesses are staying cautious when it comes to reopening, especially when there are just fewer consumers out and about.
"The local community, I think, has done a fantastic job of doing their best to buy local, to patronize local businesses," said Davis Chamber of Commerce 2020 committee chair Joe DiNunzio. "But you know there's an enormous number of customers for our businesses that are not here in Davis right now."
There is a real concern whether or not they'll come back at all.
UC Davis announced it would partially reopen campus for Fall Quarter last June, meaning some in-person classes, but mostly remote courses.
Davis was home to over 30,000 undergraduate students and over 8,500 graduate students, according to student data from fall 2019. The student population represents a specific consumer base; businesses like bars, boba tea, and coffee shops are heavily trafficked when school is in session.
The number of students living in Davis is expected to drop.
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"You'd be surprised. It impacts all kinds of businesses. Certainly restaurants, bars, ice cream shops...but there are a lot of other things—music shops and even just normal retail," DiNunzio said. "Whether it's clothing or music or whatever, students do patronize these places quite a bit."
There's also numerous employees of UC Davis to, faculty and staff who don't necessarily live in Davis but shop and eat there.
"Many of [the businesses] are reliant on the student population, and frankly also the staff population because many if not most of the staff on campus are not regularly on campus, as well," DiNunzio said.
Valerie Betsis, a neurobiology, physiology, and behavior student at UC Davis, is returning to live in Davis in the fall, but doesn't know yet if she'll have any in-person classes.
"I am going back to Davis, but by me being there, I'm not exactly sure if that means that I would be going out to different places and doing things," Betsis said.
After months of quarantining, jumping right back into "normalcy" just means more uncertainty.
"If I do go out, I obviously would wear a mask and do everything that's safe, but even now, I still don't feel exactly 100% safe to go out and go anywhere," Betsis said.
Davis commerce is looking to make the reopening experience attractive even for those who aren't so eager to experience dine-in and indoor activities again.
Davis Downtown executive director Brett Maresca said that initiatives aimed at commerce are looking to "dig deeper into the personal aspect of small business."
"These are families and individuals who…work hard to make a living and get by," Maresca said. "It really does, I think, touch a lot of the community and helps them relate...it's not just a business. Behind every business are people, and that's the key."
He adds that there are often two components to helping local businesses: the financial boost and the "morale" boost.
In an effort to lift up businesses, Davis Downtown is rolling out its big initiative: Open Air Davis.
Much like Sacramento, Stockton, and many other California cities, Davis is shutting down streets and opening up public spaces to create more outdoor seating for restaurants and bars on weekends throughout the summer.
Experimenting with different locales, G Street was shut down last weekend, while plans for closing part of Second Street are underway for this weekend.
"This could spill into the fall, through beautiful weather like in late September, October, and that would definitely be something that we would consider," Maresca said.
Betsis says it "sounds like a great idea."
"I think just the idea of being in an outdoor space seems a little bit more comfortable. Being in an enclosed area…I think people are more afraid of being indoors right now than outside."
The city is also opening up public spaces for some serviced-based businesses that can be hosted outside.
Tutoring company Kumon recently started student instruction outside. They will be sharing a space with Ketmoree Thai Restaurant across the street.
"There's a lot of this collaborative effort to try to make things work in an innovative way," Maresca said.
The Davis Chamber of Commerce has also opened up workshops and comprehensive resources to the public, allowing even non-members to access its trove of information.
"We've had a deep partnership with the community with local businesses with the city and county government, and I think that now more than ever that partnership is important," DiNunzio said. "It may sound like a cliche, but we're all in this together, and we need to figure out how to help each other anyway that ultimately helps our communities weather this storm, survive, and come out the other end and thrive."
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