Technician File Photo
Although the fall 2006 Hillsborough Street Guide listed a total of 73 businesses on the street, the likelihood of the list changing throughout the year is high as illustrated by previous years.
While new stores such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Bowls open their doors, older ones like the Record Exchange have closed.
Record Exchange, a music store formerly located beside Planet Smoothie, closed its doors due to a decision to merge with the Mission Valley Record Exchange.
Carrie Colliton, a former Record Exchange employee, said the choice to keep the Mission Valley store open instead of the Hillsborough Street location was prompted by a severe lack of parking and the presence of a competing music store on Hillsborough Street.
She said the proximity of Hillsborough Street to campus does not guarantee the constant pedestrian traffic will equal more customers. In fact, she said it can be a paradox.
“N.C. State is like a lot of colleges — they really like to provide things within campus,” Colliton said. “You can buy books on campus, you can eat on campus, you don’t have to go off campus for really anything.”
The newly established donut and ice cream combination, a joint Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins store, took the place of Schoolkids Records. The record store relocated farther down Hillsborough Street in late 2003 according to Travis Hunter, one of the store’s managers.
“The building we used to be in was bought out by a different company,” Bradley Cook, manager of Schoolkids Records, said. “They wanted to restructure the business.”
Hillsborough Street is not the only gateway college street that experiences frequent turnovers according to Michael McSwain, the manager of Jimmy Johns, a sub shop on Hillsborough Street.
“Franklin Street has a problem with many stores and turnovers as well. I actually just moved here from Chapel Hill,” he said. “I think that there is a lot of opportunity here on Hillsborough [Street].”
Cherie Fontanilla, a freshman in First Year College, commented on the current choices students are presented with on Hillsborough Street.
“Hillsborough Street needs some more places that will be entertaining to students,” Fontanilla said. “Right now, it is a little outdated.”
Jessica Putney, a freshman in political science said she would never venture to Hillsborough Street if it wasn’t for the coffee shops.
“I know if it wasn’t for the Marrakesh CafŽ and the coffee shops, I wouldn’t be on Hillsborough,” she said.
Supply and demand is prominent on Hillsborough Street; businesses try to cater to the needs of the student population and those who don’t have a harder time staying in business, Cook said.
“If you don’t sell coffee or pizza, you can’t last for more than a year,” he said.