Audio By Carbonatix
Thousands of students graduated from Denton’s two universities two
weekends back. Others went home for the break or took a vacation. Some
bands headed out on tour, meanwhile, as others have been forced into “a
break” while a certain member gallivants around in European coffee
shops.
When school lets out for the summer in a college town like Denton,
many of the city’s businesses feel a noticeable decrease in, well,
business.
Born and raised in Denton, Brian Denny is accustomed to the
seasonal ebbs and flows of business in a college town. In 2005, he
founded D.H.S. Entertainment, which now handles most of the
booking for Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, but he’s also a
former bartender and manager of Cool Beans Bar & Grill.
“I’ve bartended here and been in bands in town for a while now, and
we enter some sort of a dead zone after classes get out,” says Denny.
“People head home or go on a vacation, and all the bars and clubs have
to suffer through it.”
To make shows stand out from the rest, Denny says that, over the
summer, D.H.S. books more event-style gigs (like the upcoming annual
Rock N Roll BBQ). “They are more like community events, where
it’s about more than just taking shots and seeing a band—more an
occasion than bar hopping.”
Things pick up a little after the mini-mester is over (which is
after the first weekend in June), but, says Denny, “things stay kinda
crappy until September when the fall semester starts.”
Student-frequented local businesses expect the seasonal waxing and
waning.
“The first three weeks of summer you definitely feel the hit,” says
Rubber Gloves owner Josh Baish. “But that’s to be
expected in a college town because of the semesters. It’s all cyclical.
And I know how the numbers will look at the end of the year.”
Time Bandits owners Lisa McCullough and
David Townsend say that they’ve also already noticed a
slowing down in business. “We’re already feeling the pinch,” McCullough
says. “But we expected it this year and tried to prepare for it.”
Though many businesses, bars and venues around town feel the
scholars’ exodus, Dan Mojica of Dan’s Silverleaf says his
club manages to escape the brunt of the decline in patrons.
“At Silverleaf, we do get a lot of students, but we also cater to an
older crowd, so we don’t get hit as hard as some of the other venues,”
Mojica says, citing events like Denton Pub Quiz Apocalypse!
“Business does soften up a little bit, but not as much as places in
town that just cater to the students. We do well because we cater to
the professors too.” —Daniel Rodrigue
