With more ladybugs and less students, the economy of many local businesses takes a turn for the worse in the summer.

Several businesses, such as the body piercing shop Magic Door, 126 N. 1st St., rely on students for the majority of its customers.

Of its clientele, 60 to 70 percent are students, said owner Brian Harny.

“There’s just not as many people around; not as many customers,” Harny said. “There’s not much you can do at all.”

To combat losses, Harny said he is considering shortening his hours this summer.

“This place is kind of like a ghost town over summer,” said Mike Hoekstra, bartender at Starbusters, 930 Pappas Drive. “When it starts winding down for finals, you see less and less people coming.”

With the rising heat, Starbusters drops its prices to draw people to the bar, Hoekstra said. The bar also does more specials, such as Long Island fisher night, to keep the customers coming.

Some businesses depend more on students than others.

“Obviously students have a big impact on our business,” said Brian Holden, general manager of Pizza Hut, 701 W. Lincoln Highway.

The store loses 200 to 300 customers a week during the summer. It has 1,200 to 1,500 customers a week during the school year, Holden said.

Business over the summer depends on whether summer school is in session and what is going on at the Convocation Center, he said.

For businesses such as Shelley’s, 901 H Lucinda Ave., its location can put it at a greater disadvantage for summer sales.

“It’s definitely our location,” said Shelley’s manager Beth Cottrell, referring to the restaurant’s center-of-campus location.

The business’ strategy for summer is to increase advertising in local magazines, Cottrell said.

With most of its clientele on a hiatus for the summer, the restaurant focuses on preparing for the students’ return.

“We cut down our hours till summer school; we cut back our staff,” Cottrell said. “We kind of prepare for August. The move-in days are really big.”

The predicament is not as bad for businesses that have built a loyal line of customers over a long time, such as The Junction restaurant, 816 W. Lincoln Highway.

“We’ve been in the same location since 1969,”said Chris Bahramis, Junction host and manager. “We have a lot of residential clientele.”

While they still feel a small part of the local economy’s loss, the locals make up for it, Bahramis said.