With its close proximity to campus, downtown area businesses are fueled by students and faculty from the University.

Barbara Ruland, executive director of the Downtown Bowling Green Organization, said the downtown area’s business is positively affected by events put on by the University and its events and organizations, such as Martin Luther King Challenge Day.

“We believe that the downtown helps make a favorable impression on prospective students and their families,” Ruland said. “The University schedule has a definite impact on business.”

Floyd Craft looked at the town as a place to set up several of his businesses: Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames, For Keeps gift shop, The Busy Thimble quilt shop and Ace Hardware.

Craft credited the University as a major reason for setting up shop in the city. He said a university town’s economy, though it can have ups and downs, is often more stable than the economy in a factory town.

“When I came to look at the town, the University was really the selling point,” Craft said.

While student traffic decreased in the last decade, Craft said his businesses still enjoy interacting with the students who come.

“Once we can get students … into the stores, then we get them back,” Craft said. “It’s not unusual to talk to somebody that’s been in the store, and it’s the first time they’re here and they’re seniors.”

To draw more students to the business, Ben Franklin is going to work with Campus Cash through the University email system.

Craft said many parents and grandparents of students who come and visit the downtown come to the stores and credits the downtown’s atmosphere for attracting business, as well as other businesses and the city government’s efforts to create it.

“It’s unusual to have a downtown that’s as active [as Bowling Green], and we’ve worked really hard to keep it that way,” Craft said.

The stores also get considerable support from the University faculty, particularly with the art department and the athletic department, as well as the recreation center utilizing Ace Hardware for maintenance purposes.

Ben Franklin does the majority of the framing for the athletic department and can perform the job in a day’s time in the store. The store also does considerable business with party supplies and stocking the University’s orange and brown colors for events.

Students still frequently work in Craft’s businesses, and other downtown businesses utilize the employment and business of students.

Brandon Kaufman, assistant manager at City Tap and The Attic, said University students are a major source of income for the bars.

“Our business wouldn’t be anywhere near the same if we didn’t have the campus here,” Kaufman said. “That’s why we have so many bars downtown because there’s enough people to go around to be able to keep all of the businesses alive.”

While Kaufman said City Tap still makes money during the summer, he said there is a slight decrease of customers at the late night bar, and there was a sizable drop in business at the restaurant for the first two to three weeks of summer, but now the restaurant numbers are nearing the school year level again.

Kaufman said relatively older patrons from town help the place to stay afloat in the summer months.

“If business was like it is in the summertime year-round, I can guarantee there wouldn’t be as many bars downtown,” Kaufman said.

Older patrons from the University also come downtown. John Gardner, bar manager at SamB’s Restaurant, said teachers and administrators come in, sometimes for business meetings.

The restaurant also allows students to use their BG1 cards and over half of the employees are students.

Gardner said the restaurant would not have the same level of success without the University, but he also credits the city itself for keeping the street clean, watering plants and holding downtown events to attract people.

Craft said that the majority of the restaurants downtown are independently owned, and Gardner said that SamB’s is one of them.

“You can go any place and get a chain restaurant,” Craft said. “We’re unique. We have a lot of local restaurants.”