With the University of Saskatchewan’s plan to keep classes online into its fall semester due to the coronavirus pandemic, businesses that rely on students are worried about taking a hit. “We used to have a lot of walk-in customers.
Even on weekends, when the university’s closed, students keep us busy,” said Sanjay Joshi, owner of Wow Pizza. His restaurant is on College Drive, across from the university.
He said his business relies on word of mouth to bring in more customers. Now their sales are down around 30 per cent, he said.
While the summer is the restaurant’s “dry period”, Joshi said he’s worried that could last the rest of the year. But it’s not just restaurants that are struggling.