 "Photo: Stephen Fogg")
The state of the economy has affected small businesses around Aggieland, but business owners said they remain optimistic despite the financial strain.
Marlene Ferguson has been an active business owner in the Bryan community since 1975, owning a landscaping company before opening her gift shop Gifts and Gab on Texas Avenue. Recently, Ferguson said that she has noticed a gradual decrease in sales. Financially, she said October was her store's worst month since its 2001 inception.
"This has been the worst year that I've had; I'm sure," Ferguson said. "There have been days especially during the summer, but even now, [when] we don't see the amount of people we would normally see, because people do not want to spend money."
Ferguson believes the economy is troubled because of the election, credit card debt, gasoline prices and food prices.
"What's happening is that people are afraid to spend money with everything that's going on," she said. "So they are holding on to their money and aren't spending it."
Even as the Christmas season quickly approaches, what customers don't have to buy is gifts, Ferguson said.
"People just have to feel confident. I am in the kind of business that [customers] don't have to buy," Ferguson said. "I'm finding people who do come in to buy are being more discretionary about how they're spending money."
While Ferguson cited multiple reasons for the economy's troubles, the businesswoman offered advice on how to turn the economy around.
"People just need to start spending money. Things have to turn around," she said.
Ferguson said the media's negative attention of the economy is a factor. She said that the more people heard about a negative market, the less likely they would br to spend money.
Nevertheless, the 11-year cancer survivor remains optimistic about the future of her business.
"I am a survivor. I do not give up," she said. "What's going to happen to me? I'm not going anywhere."
Another local restaurant located off Texas Avenue has experienced a shift during the last few months.
"We are very affected by the economy," said Alfonso Gonzalez, the owner of La Riviera. "In the last three months, I would say, our business has gone down 25 percent at least."
Gonzalez said that he noticed a change in September.
"The first eight months that we were open we were really busy. Now, even Fridays or Saturdays, when you usually rule - we don't have as much business as before," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez, who has been a resident of the Bryan-College Station area for 14 years, said that he is not sure whether the economy is to blame, but he believes it is.
"I just need more business," Gonzalez said. "Usually, football season is very good for restaurants, and this year it was not the same. I mean we were busy, but not as expected."
But he said he remains upbeat.
"We're still doing okay, but not as well as we were," he said. "Hopefully, the [economy] will turn around next year. There's trouble in all small businesses."
Not far from La Riviera, a small business has made changes to adapt to the economic climate.
"The price of our food has gone up," said Van Farinola, the owner of Frittella's Italian Café. "But we want to keep the same quality of our food, so we've gone a little smaller on our pizza, but kept the same ingredients."
Farinola said that her business sees fewer customers during the week days than normal, but financially, they haven't seen a great change.
"Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays are generally slower than normal, but we make it up on Saturday and Sunday. Economy-wise, the beginning of the weekdays are slower than normal," she said.
Frittella's, which opened approximately six years ago, experienced trouble when gas prices escalated.
"When the gas crunch was going on, it seemed to really affect us," Farinola said, "People were spending less money when they were going out, but these weekends [people] are getting out. It's not hurting us financially."
Like Gonzalez, Farinola noticed a change in the 2008 football season compared with 2007.
"I have noticed a difference in [customers] saying that [food] seems expensive," she said. "When, actually, it is not. Our prices are very low to medium here."
Farinola is not worried about the economy affecting her business. She believes that the new presidential administration will help the country move forward.
"Right now, I'm curious, because business has been very good to us here," she said.
"I think that once the new president gets into office, things will normalize a bit more. I think everybody, including the stock market, is afraid right now. But generally, with my experience, once a new president gets into office, everything turns around."
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