TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - With University of Arizona coming back into session, businesses near the university are waking up from a sleepy spell and companies are looking forward to a fresh surge of customers.
Outside Gentle Ben's Joseph Beamon's using spray paint to give the bar's big bear a fresh look.
All up and down University Boulevard, businesses are getting ready for the students to return.
At Frog and Firkin manager Jonathan Graham’s been prepping all summer for that student surge
"We've been adding an extension on the back with our construction project going on which will be great, come family weekend and homecoming and weather and all that stuff but as far as getting ready for students we've been dialing in our specials, how we're gonna run the days of the week, all summer long we've been getting move-in packets ready to distribute in the off-campus housing. It's been a grind. Everybody else slows, we pick up in the summer management wise trying to get ready for the Fall."
When the University gets back into session, it's as if a city's worth of people has just dropped into this area in the space of a couple of days and that's got to be good for business.
UA estimates it pumps 3.6 Billion dollars into Arizona's economy. That's University purchasing, salaries and how that money multiplies as people spend on goods and services.
At Fairwheel Bikes Ralph Phillips says locals prepping bikes for vacation keep his shop fairly busy through the summer but the return of the students really cranks things up.
KGUN9 reporter Craig Smith asked: “What kind of things are they looking for when they come in?”
Phillips says, “Cheap transportation or else if they have a bike already they want the flats fixed, get it tuned up, get a lock for it, get a basket for it. Basic transportation on campus."
And the business build up also means potential jobs for students as they help pay their way through school.
