Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or some coffee, the start of the quarter for Cal Poly means an economic boost many businesses await.
“It's a huge change. Summer is just a lot more locals and then the big influx of people, when it hits September, is insane, lines out the door," said Owen Branon, Scout Coffee shift lead.
Tacos El Tizon is one of them. The restaurant sits about a mile and a half from campus.
“We like it when they come back you know, it gets a lot busier. Tuesdays especially everyone decides to come in all at once," said Tacos El Tizon manager, Daniel Lopez.
Next to them is The Breakfast Buzz and although they are only open during the morning hours they share the same results.
“Once WOW week started you can definitely see the rush of students and parents coming in as their dropping their kids off. Weekends are always a busier time but it’s definitely picked up," said a server there, Kaitlyn Manely.
Bigger crowds mean having to keep up with demand. One factor contributing to more students is the ease of COVID-19 restrictions.
This year Cal Poly reported having 8,314 students living on campus to put that into perspective only 4,500 lived on campus during the 2020-2021 school year.
Scout Coffee said more students around means more coming in for a coffee break.
“It's obviously a little busier. We obviously prepare for that being that we say in September when school is going to start so we kind of prepare for that hiring some new people and stuff," said Branon.
The fall quarter lasts through Dec. 9, 2022. Students will then be gone for a break until the winter quarter starts on Jan. 9, 2023.
