MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — Baylor University students are back in Waco for the new school year, and local businesses are already feeling the impact.
Baylor is expecting more than 20,000 students to be enrolled this year, with around 3,400 freshmen.
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Baylor University students are back in Waco for the new school year, and local businesses are already feeling the impact.
Baylor is expecting more than 20,000 students to be enrolled this year, with around 3,400 freshmen.
One student said the return is something to look forward to.
"Excited to get to know everybody and the community, it's going to be great!" Baylor University Freshman, Varune said.
Many of those students find their way into local businesses, like MilaRosa Coffee. This is the first summer both Mila locations in Waco have been open, and owner Kayla Olvera said the absence of students hit the bottom line hard.
"We kind of figured that we were gonna see like a decline in the sales, but we just didn't really know how drastic, so it was pretty drastic," Olvera said.
College students are a natural fit for coffee shops, Olvera said.
"A lot of college students, you know, that are in town, they go to coffee shops. Like that's their, you know, main thing to study, maybe they just kind of take a break, um, or get just like that pick me up," Olvera said.
Within the past week, students have already been coming in to order. But Olvera said it is not just money they bring back — it is also community.
"You know you can go out, go eat, and you see a whole bunch of like students and so I'm sure every business in Waco is very appreciative uh whenever we have the students here," Olvera said.
Move-in continues Thursday, and students begin classes Monday, Aug. 26.
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