Brighton Moves into Fall

It's a Wednesday afternoon at Reservoir Wine and Spirits. The store associate who identifies himself only as Shazzad stands behind the counter nodding at the midday customers shuffling in and out. He looks proudly at the wall of confiscated fake IDs displayed behind him. "You won't believe it," he said. "We got five already last weekend."

It's back to business for Shazzad and other Brighton shopkeepers who have been stocking their shelves in anticipation of Boston's influx of 250,000 student residents who arrive for the fall semester.

"About 50 percent of the business done in Cleveland Circle is student-based," Shazzad said. "We're no different. We have to do a lot of purchasing in the summer to be ready for the fall. We don't want to be out of anything."

Nami Zylbersztajn, general manager of Crazy Dough's Pizza on Commonwealth Ave., is experiencing student foot traffic for the first time at her new storefront.

"We are fortunate to have a great location," she said. Located directly off the Boston College stop on the Green Line, which processes over 150 trains daily, Crazy Dough's management claims both BC students and local residents as its main customer base.

"The transition of students has been wonderful because it has provided us with a gradual flow of customers experiencing the business for the first time, as well as the opportunity to get to know students and the neighborhood on a much deeper level," Zylbersztajn said.

"All of us at Crazy Dough's Pizza have enjoyed getting to know the students and campus personality better, as students have returned, and we consider it a privilege to work next to such a great campus and within a supportive neighborhood."

Alan Linick, general manager of City Convenience, located down the street on Commonwealth Ave., is a veteran of the college retail seasons.

"In the weeks prior to now, the store has been stocking up on products commonly demanded by students during the move-in process from cleaning supplies to snack items," he said. "An unusual increase this year has been an increase in the supply of chewing tobacco to meet student demands."

City Convenience, which, although located directly across from BC, is a Boston University-owned business, caters to non-students also.

"The store is also a neighborhood business, as it is one of the few stores with grocery items in the area," Linick said. "We carry products and operate in a way that meets the demands of both populations."

But store owners have found that students can be fickle in their patronage to certain establishments.

Bill Hoben, manager of El Pelon Taqueria on Commonwealth Ave., said that he expected more business to be student-based. "We chose the location here, and BC came with the territory," he said. "But I expected more business to be student-based. Even during the football game, we expected it to be chaos here, but that wasn't the case."

That does not mean that business is hurting, though. "Things have gone pretty smoothly," Hoben said. n