To counter the expected drop in sales, stores plan to offer new products, extend the availability of popular seasonal offerings and move pre-break sales to earlier in the year. Other stores will rely on local customers or the influx of students during other parts of the year.
"When the students aren't here, the town really does die in terms of activity," Lloyd Gabourel, former manager of the local boutique Rosey Jekes, said. "Everything is different."
Although Rosey Jekes will close permanently in December, Gabourel said he thinks many local businesses will be affected. In addition to losing student customers, stores will also lose the patronage of faculty and staff who may spend less time in Hanover during the break, he said.
According to the Nugget theater manager M. Kaufman, a longer interim means that students may have more time to see movies at home. While he plans to keep popular movies showing through January, Kaufman said that the missed time will be particularly damaging because many Academy Award hopefuls are released between November and January.
"Less people in town, less tickets to sell it'll affect the business," Kaufman said. "The students can see any movies they want to at home."
The Dartmouth Co-Op has plans to attract student customers by holding a sale prior to the end of the term, according to store manager Paul Bouchard. The store also hopes to attract Hanover residents by featuring products from King Arthur Flour.
The boutique Bella and its newly-opened sister store Indigo also plan to rely on local business, especially as residents begin their holiday shopping in town, according to co-owner Mia Vogt. Bella also experienced a successful back-to-school shopping period during the start of Fall term, which began a week earlier.
"It seems to work out with the local business replacing Dartmouth business," Vogt said. "I'm very happy with the change of schedule."
In past years, students have done minimal shopping at Bella's in the period between Thanksgiving and the end of Fall term, according to Vogt, who added that college students originally from Hanover who attend school elsewhere may shop at Bella and Indigo during this period.
Local clientele will constitute the base of customers at the Canoe Club this winter, according to restaurant owner John Chapin. The longer break will only affect the restaurant marginally, since students are not its main customers. The absence of faculty and administrators, however, may have an impact, he said.
"This particular business is built around local clientele, with Dartmouth as the icing on the cake rather than the other way around," Chapin said. "I think some businesses are much more tapped into the Dartmouth community than we are."
One such restaurant is Molly's, a perennial student favorite that may see a decline in winter sales this year, according to assistant manager Eric Isaacs. Although residents often eat at the restaurant following shopping in Hanover or attending shows at the Hopkins Center, these clients will not make up for the loss of student customers.
"We'll definitely see a hit at night," Isaacs said. "We're getting more popular, though, so that may balance it out some."
Other local restaurants may also face a loss around Thanksgiving, according to Rhiannon Saucedo '15, who remained on campus during the break last year. Because on-campus dining options were not available during the Thanksgiving break, students sought meals at local restaurants.
Samara Shanker '14 said she does not anticipate a large shift in local business, given that the period between the Thanksgiving and winter breaks corresponded with Fall term finals.
"I don't imagine that it'd be a huge downturn," she said. "It's the same amount of time we're spending on campus."
While most business owners said they do not anticipate severe downturns, many preferred the previous schedule.
"Given a vote, I would've voted to keep the old cycle," Chapin said.
