As students return from school, local businesses look to make up lost ground from winter break and grueling weather conditions.

On Sunday, Jan. 5, southern Illinois was hit with a winter storm, bringing with it three inches of snow and temperatures stooping as low as 6 degrees. The following day temperatures fell to as low as minus 2 degrees with winds gusting up to 33 mph.

Weather like this can have a direct effect on the local economy, as people try to avoid the cold at all costs, causing families to huddle around the household fireplace rather then going out to eat. However, with students returning from break, businesses remain optimistic.

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Dave Brown, general manager of Quatro’s Deep Pan Pizza, said there were a few effects from the storm but overall, they are just looking forward to having the students back in town.

“Our business is fine,” Brown said. “As the week went on business did well.”

Every winter break, businesses take a hit because of students leaving town, and the weather definitely didn’t help. “A lot of students didn’t come back early because of the storm,” Brown said.

He said they closed up shop early on Jan. 5, mostly for the safety of the delivery drivers.

Ralph Behrens, general manager of Panera Bread in Carbondale, also expressed concern for his employees during the storm. Panera closed its doors at 3:00 p.m. instead of 10:00 p.m. as the storm rolled through southern Illinois.

“We wanted to get our employees home and safe,” Behrens said. Safety was also his main concern when discussing the effects of last week’s storm.

Regardless of weather, he said that the business is back on track. Other than a few delivery problems, the restaurant was not drastically affected.

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Grocery stores such as Schnuck’s and Arnold’s Market said delivery trucks being a little late were the only problems they faced as well.

Lance Jack, owner of Fat Patties and a member of the Carbondale City Council, says business can be difficult during breaks and the weather doesn’t help anything.

“It makes a slow time even slower,” he said, describing the difficulties of running a small local business in a college town.

Because small businesses like Fat Patties lack the funding in comparison to larger corporation or chain restaurants, occurrences such as last week’s storm and winter break can play a greater role in affecting production, Jack said.

As university classes return to session and students travel back to Carbondale, Jack wants to remind people to get out and support local businesses. He said if people want a diverse selection, its important to be involved in their community.

“We as a business continue to try to emphasize to residents to shop locally,” Jack said.

Kyle Sutton can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter at @KyleSutton_DE, or at 536-3311 ext. 268.