In the heart of Downtown Blacksburg, small business shops line Main Street. From clothing boutiques, to restaurants and even the Lyric theater, Blacksburg is home to numerous small businesses. However, as Blacksburg is a college town, business owners can have stress and run into problems when students leave for break.

 

“There is [stress], but I don’t think we experience that to the extent that say, the restaurant or bar industry does,” said Ellen Woodall, manager of Blacksburg Books. “We are not completely dependent on students because a lot of locals want books, too.”

 

Although there is stress with owning a business in a college town, business owners are very happy with their choice of starting their businesses in Blacksburg. Blacksburg Books is a business that opened at the start of the Fall 2021 semester. Blacksburg Books also sells various local goods like drinks, sweets and jewelry, according to the stores’ website.

 

“We could have found bigger space and cheaper space in Christiansburg,” said Woodard. “But we live in Blacksburg, we want to be in Blacksburg and for Blacksburg.”

 

2020 was a harsh year on businesses, specifically, small businesses. According to Chris Nichols, nearly one-in-three small businesses closed during the pandemic. While Nichols admits that it is hard to say whether those businesses closed for good or temporarily, he believes that one-third is a fair estimate.

 

While new businesses open every year, the Lyric Theater in Blacksburg has been the heart of the community for nearly 100 years, according to their website. Greg Boatwright, manager of the Lyric Theater, said that the theater has had to evolve the way they reach out and obtain customers.

 

“For incoming freshmen, we will distribute maybe 1,000 movie passes,” said Boatwright. “We have social media, and when we can we’ll have an intern create a post for that.” The assertation of new clients relies on the Lyric giving away coupons and free movies, according to Boatwright.

 

Students also impact businesses by being a part of the revenue and being employees. However, problems also arise from owning a business in an area with young students. “Football behavior, big and bad this year,” said Nancyne Willoughby, owner of Fringe Benefit. “Terrible, worse than ever.” Willoughby went on to say that one of her other businesses had its front window smashed in and vandalized by students.

 

According to Jen Cardone, Blacksburg small businesses rely on Virginia Tech students to support their businesses. However, both Blacksburg Books and Fringe Benefit maintained that the locals are more of a driving force than students.

 

“Overall, I think we are okay,” said Woodall. “We haven’t yet been through, say a Christmas break when the students aren’t here, or a summer break, so get back to me after that.”