Ron Schultz says business at his campus-area restaurant declined sharply when the SUB reopened its doors Sept. 2 - and it hasn't been the same since.
"In those first three weeks, we lost about a third of our customers," said Schultz, who, along with his wife, Marie, has owned 20 Carrots restaurant, 2110 Central Ave., for three years. "It probably added up to several thousand dollars during that time."
The restaurant, which caters primarily to a vegetarian crowd with menu items costing on average about $7, also had to decrease its staff from three to one, he said.
The SUB's opening "reduced basically what were student jobs," Schultz said. "We just had to let them go."
Schultz's restaurant isn't the only campus-area eatery feeling the crunch.
Just three blocks away, the Frontier restaurant has also noticed a drop in customers since the SUB opened, especially in the late morning and mid afternoon, said restaurant General Manager Pete Villegas.
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"Percentage-wise, I'd say the difference would be 3 or 4 percent," said Villegas, who has worked at the popular restaurant since it opened 32 years ago. "It's certainly a noticeable difference. For the last couple years, we've been enjoying the benefit of not having an organized Student Union with food vendors."
He said Frontier management has made an effort to streamline its delivery processes to compete with the SUB.
"We need to be sharper and more customer-oriented," Villegas said. "The main thing affecting us is probably convenience."
Carlos Garcia, a UNM junior, said he used to eat frequently at restaurants such as Saggio's, 107 Cornell Drive., and the Frontier, but these days, he buys about four meals a week at the SUB.
"It seems like I'm eating here more and more," Garcia said while waiting for his lunch at Sonic, one of six food choices in the SUB. "It's convenience for sure. I mean, it's just right here, and the places are pretty good, too."
SUB Director Walt Miller said he hasn't received any feedback from local businesses regarding customer declines. Attendance at the SUB, he said, has been steadily growing since its opening.
Managers at both University-area coffee shops, Winning Coffee, 111 Harvard Drive, and Irysh Mac's, 110 Yale Blvd., said they haven't noticed any drop-off in sales since the SUB opened.
The new SUB, which features Higher Grounds coffee shop, has not affected business at Irysh Mac's, owner Erin Mowris said.
"If anything, it's the weather that's been messing with us," Mowris said.
Saggio's General Manager Frank Casale said business at his restaurant went up when the SUB closed three years ago, and "predictably did the opposite when it reopened."
Saggio's management is waiting for financial figures, due next month, to determine whether marketing strategies need to be changed, Casale said.
Now that his business has begun to recover from the SUB's opening and customers are returning to 20 Carrots, Schultz said his mind has been put somewhat at ease, but he still has concerns.
"We were worried there for awhile about our survival," he said. "But luckily, our business is almost paid for. We're a mom-and-pop type operation, and I don't think the University should be competing with small businesses around campus."
