On Friday, Collegetown will be teaming with scores of excited, drunken Cornellians eagerly anticipating the festivities on the Slope. Although for businesses, operating in the middle of the tumult could be a nightmare, Collegetown liquor stores said they are ready to face a surge in customers.
Many store owners said that, leading up to Slope Day, they simply ordered extra stock, hired a few additional employees and enjoyed the increase in sales.
Karl Kernan, manager of Triphammer Wine and Spirits, said the store “obviously [does] a little bit more business” as Slope Day approaches. The store sees an increase in sales for both its spirits and its “lower-end sparkling wine,” which Kernan called “a favorite for the day.”
“In preparation for the day, we stock up on those things and bulk up staffing for Thursday and Friday,” Kernan added.
Kernan said that Triphammer Wine and Spirits typically experiences a 20-percent increase in sales in the days leading up to Slope Day.
Like Kernan, Dana Malley, the general manager of Northside Wine and Spirits, said that her store tries to “make sure we have enough stock of items we think people might be looking for.”
She also stressed that as students flood the store to purchase alcohol, it is important to enforce the legal drinking age.
“The main thing is really to be vigilant about the IDs. We really need to be careful there,” Malley said.
Collegetown liquor stores are not the only places that find themselves busy both in the days leading up to Slope Day and on the day of the actual event. Representatives from several restaurants and eateries also said that they experience a notable increase in sales.
Albert Smith, the owner of the Hot Truck, an eatery on West Campus, and Shortstop Deli, a store on the Commons, said that once the festivities on the Slope wind down, people flock to the two locations to eat to their hearts’ content.
“Once they’re out, they pretty much stay out, so once Slope Day breaks up, we have a big Truck night and the Deli also has a great night,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, Yogurt Crazy, the fledgling frozen yogurt spot on College Avenue that opened in March, appeared to be readying itself for its first Slope Day.
“I know that April 20 was our biggest day [so far], and we’re expecting that Slope Day is going to be bigger than that,” said Jasmine Alger, a salesperson at the store.
To gear up for Slope Day, Yogurt Crazy will have “everyone … who works here” working on Slope Day, Alger said.
She also said that the store ordered “triple [their usual] stock” for the day.
Despite the frenetic atmosphere evoked by Slope Day — and the hordes of Cornell students packing into stores to make their necessary purchases before the event — Collegetown retailers do not seem worried.
“It’s something we encounter [and] experience every year … and I think for the most part, customers are very friendly and very easy to accommodate,” Malley said.
Original Author: David Fischer