//College towns without college students have small businesses struggling

College towns without college students have small businesses struggling

Middlebury, Vermont, is one of many small towns where businesses are dependent on college students. | John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

Restaurants and stores that rely on college students are trying everything from takeout to GoFundMes, and some schools and alumni are pitching in.

Most weekends from around 8 am to 2 pm, Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery is packed. Some choose to pick up a pastry and a cup of coffee at the quick service area near the front of the restaurant. For those who want to dine in, there are classic 1950s diner booths, but they’re often filled with hungry students. Most of the time, down the center of the dining room there’s a line of Dartmouth kids and locals waiting to be seated.

But since the coronavirus outbreak forced students to leave Dartmouth’s campus, the booths at Lou’s have remained empty.